Greenhouse gas emissions | Road transport weighs down Quebec’s balance sheet

The agglomeration of Quebec is moving away from its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target, mainly because of road transport, data for the year 2021 indicate, showing according to various observers the need to invest “massively” in public transport.

The cities of Quebec, L’Ancienne-Lorette and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, which make up the agglomeration, generated 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO eq.₂) during this second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, reveals their inventory of 2021 GHG emissions, which The Press has obtained – the agglomeration does not yet make its inventories public.

This is an increase of 2.5% compared to 2010, while the capital aims to reduce its emissions by 45% compared to that year by 2030.

This objective “is starting to be really, really difficult to achieve,” worried Christian Savard, general director of Vivre en ville, an organization established in Quebec dedicated to the development of quality living environments.

The transportation sector alone is responsible for nearly two-thirds of the agglomeration of Quebec’s emissions, mainly attributable to the road transport subsector, compared to a little more than a third in the agglomeration of Montreal.

This “much more important” part […] shows that we are much more spread out, much more dependent on the automobile than a city like Montreal,” reacted Alexandre Turgeon, general director and vice-president of the Regional Environmental Council of the Capital Region. National, which is not surprised by this assessment.

There are “more vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in Quebec than in Montreal” and fewer heavy industries, observes Pierre-Olivier Pineau, holder of the Chair of Energy Sector Management at HEC Montreal.

The inventory also highlights that the increase in the number of “passenger vehicles” was 12% on the territory of the agglomeration between 2010 and 2021, i.e. double the increase in the population.

“Cars reproduce twice as fast as people in Quebec,” jokes Christian Savard.

Continue to make the problem worse

GHG emissions from the Quebec agglomeration continue to increase due to the “inaction” that has persisted for decades in the planning of transport infrastructure and land use planning, deplores Alexandre Turgeon.

“Yes, we make gestures to try to change things, but we continue to make gestures which contribute to worsening the picture,” he said, giving the example of new neighborhoods built on the outskirts of cities and the financing of the network. road, which takes up 75% of the Quebec transport budget.

“How is it that in Ontario, they are capable, but we are still stuck in the XX^e century in an all-automobile mentality? “, he asks.

These choices ensure that “the virtuous circle of reducing car dependence does not begin, and we end up with the results of the 2021 GHG report,” adds Christian Savard.

Both believe that this new assessment demonstrates the error of putting the Quebec tramway project on hold, a project that has been in the works for more than 20 years.

“Given the balance sheet we have, we have no choice but to invest massively in public transport,” explains Alexandre Turgeon.

Christian Savard cites the example of Lyon, the third largest city in France, with a population similar to that of Quebec, which has reduced the share of trips made by car to less than 50% for 15 years, by investing in the metro, tram, rapid bus service (SRB) and active transportation.

“There is proof that it works,” he says.

The City of Quebec declined the interview request from The Pressaffirming that an announcement on the GHG inventory is planned for early 2024.

“We would like to wait for this moment to specify future actions,” indicated its spokesperson, Jean-Pascal Lavoie.

The office of Mayor Bruno Marchand, for its part, indicated that it was “very aware” of the work to be done to reverse the trend.

“We cannot continue like this, without changing anything,” said the mayor in a statement sent by his press secretary. We must do better by promoting public transport, by promoting active mobility options or by integrating better management of our housing and land use planning offering. »