In his most recent interview with To have tothe President and CEO of Énergir, Éric Lachance, tries to justify his company’s failure to respect the legal minimum content of renewable natural gas (RNG) in its network (barely 1% in 2020) by invoking a future that would be radiant and carbon-free.
This means that even today, more than 99% of the gas consumed in Quebec is of fossil origin and that it is, in very large proportion, from hydraulic fracturing. At a time of climate emergency, this is mind-boggling data.
Énergir was however delighted with the enactment of the regulation on renewable natural gas (gas resulting from the decomposition of waste) in 2019, suggesting that it would easily reach its targets.
During his interview, the CEO of Énergir does not hesitate to say one thing and its opposite, often in the same sentence. An example ? Why did Énergir not respect the 1% GNR threshold? Mr. Lachance answers first: “The GNR is the initiative that is the key to decarbonizing the network”. And the journalist resumed: “conceding that the planned threshold had not been reached, [le p.-d.g.] assured in the same breath that the supply contracts signed in recent months already made it possible to reach the thresholds established for next year “(established at 2%, editor’s note).
At this rate, the key may stay stuck in the lock for a long time. Especially since we learned last May that Énergir was struggling to find customers for its renewable gas acquired in 2021 and 2022. Faced with misleading speeches, reality is sometimes stubborn.
Another example of a sentence from Mr. Lachance that seems to come from newspeak and the double thought conceived by Orwell: “Natural gas will have its role to play in the decarbonization of Quebec”. Given the very nature of this gas, which will remain at least 90% fossil-based by 2030, that’s like saying that oil or carbon themselves will have a role to play in Quebec’s decarbonization. .
We had already understood, in Énergir’s advertisements, by seeing the potato peels transform into a pretty blue flame, that renewable natural gas served as a screen for the pursuit of activities related to the mass distribution of fossil gas ( more than 99% of what is in Énergir’s pipes today, let’s remember). But now Mr. Lachance is now promoting “certified” fossil natural gas, produced in a “responsible” way. After the light cigarette, clean coal (the famous ” clean coal by President Trump) and Western Ethical Oil is another company greenwashing despite the toxicity of its operations.
According to reviews cited by the FinancialTimes, “responsible gas is the latest example of corporate greenwashing and a poor solution to heavy government regulation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is the primary component of natural gas” . How do you seriously consider certifying gas hydraulic fracturing, which by its very nature involves the injection of pressurized chemical soup into rock strata as well as methane leaks and frequent intrusions of pollutants into groundwater?
Certainly not by limiting water consumption and erecting noise barriers so as not to disturb the neighbours. Frac gas is in the same family as coal, an extremely polluting fossil fuel.
Hydro-Québec and Énergir belong to Quebecers, either directly or through the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The Government of Quebec wants to invest massively in the electrification of its economy and thereby achieve its climate objectives. This is incompatible with maintaining fossil gas in dual-energy programs and in building heating (not to mention subsidies for the construction of gas pipelines). It will be necessary, and the sooner the better, to make the necessary choices and bring Quebec’s largest gas distributor to heel.
Gaz Métro changed its name in 2017 to give itself a less fossilized image. Although the company has diversified its activities in Vermont (and under a different name), it is clear that in its native land, Énergir is still the old Gaz Métro.
* Also signed this text:
Laurence Leduc-Primeau, coordinator of the Grouping of environmental organizations in energy
Cyril Frazao, Acting Director General of Nature Quebec
Eric Pineault, professor, president of the scientific committee of the Institute of Environmental Sciences of UQAM
Jean-François Lefebvre, lecturer in urban studies at UQAM
Bruno Detuncq, from the Québec Hydrocarbon Vigilance Group
Léa Ilardo, climate policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation
Patrick Bonin, Climate-Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Canada
Krystel Marylène Papineau, Head of Sortons la Caisse du Carbone