Our “linear” economic model, based on overconsumption of resources, transgresses planetary environmental limits, notes a document published Tuesday by Recyc-Québec, which calls for the implementation of different principles in order to reduce our material footprint.
Initiated by the state-owned company and produced in collaboration with the international organization Circle Economy, the study emphasizes the unsustainable nature of the Quebec economy.
“Although the Canadian province is renowned for its vast forests and almost entirely renewable electricity production, consumption of water and other resources is exceptionally high, and bicycle use remains relatively low,” it reads.
Overall, Quebec is responsible for “a significant material footprint” of 271 million tonnes of resources per year, or 32 tonnes per inhabitant, “which far exceeds the global average.”
This reality arises, according to the study, from the fact that “the province has a relatively low level of circularity”, since only 3.5% of the economy is considered circular, therefore linked to a consumption production system aimed at optimizing the use of resources at all stages of the life cycle of a good or service. The world average is 7.2%.
Result: Quebec “transgresses the safety limits linked to three environmental impacts, namely climate change, eutrophication in the marine environment and the use of fresh water.”
For example, in terms of climate, Quebec is currently 1041% above the “limit” that would allow us to combat global warming in order to maintain a viable climate. And an average Quebecer consumes more than 570 litres of drinking water per day, compared to 130 litres per day in France, which implies “an 86% excess of safety limits”.
The rapid obsolescence of many everyday objects, such as cell phones and laptops, also contributes to our consumption of resources. It must be said that the vast majority of these devices are never recovered.
Reduce the space of the car
To hope to reverse the trend, and thus reduce the average annual material footprint to around 16 tonnes per inhabitant, the report proposes the implementation of six “scenarios”, including a transformation of our modes of transport, the prioritization of “responsible purchasing”, the shift towards more “sustainable” agriculture and the integration of “circularity” in the construction sector.
A major project is thus announced in the transport sector, and this, well beyond the electrification of the solo car. “Although the abandonment of gasoline vehicles in favor of electric vehicles considerably reduces emissions, as well as the water footprint of gasoline production, this will not be enough to reduce all environmental impacts,” the study underlines.
“The production of batteries for electric vehicles is also a very water-intensive process,” the authors of the document point out.
“This is why our ‘making mobility clean’ scenario aims to reduce the number of vehicles needed on the roads and presents strategies to keep them in service for as long as possible, as well as to recycle end-of-life components.”
The study also calls for improving the lifespan of the products we consume every day, but also for focusing on recycling them when they reach the end of their life, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributable to “the demand for raw materials as well as [qu’à] their extraction, transformation, transport and use”.
The implementation of the measures proposed in the study to reduce our climate footprint is not perfect, however, since the “limit” for climate change would still be exceeded by 578%. For comparison, on a global scale, the planetary limit for climate change has been transgressed by 191%.
“Beyond a sustainable operating space”
Specialist and spokesperson for issues related to waste management and consumption at Équiterre, Amélie Côté believes that Quebec would benefit from implementing the scenarios mentioned in the report, but also from quickly considering the need to “profoundly transform our consumption and production methods.”
“We have been living on credit for several years,” she illustrates, recalling that according to calculations, Earth Overshoot Day, the moment of the year when we have consumed all the renewable natural resources that the Earth can provide in a year, arrived on March 15 this year for Canada.
It would take 4.9 planets to meet the needs of the world’s population if everyone consumed as much as Canada does.
“We are now living beyond a sustainable operating space and we find ourselves in the ‘danger zone’ of an irreversible change in the natural system that allows life to be maintained on Earth,” warns the study published Tuesday by Recyc-Québec.