Quebec: A climate report greened by the COVID-19 pandemic

Quebec’s emissions have decreased by 26.6% in 2020 compared to 1990 levels, which exceeds its initial ambition by nearly seven percentage points. The province, however, owes a great candle to the pandemic, since it is “in large part” thanks to it that the climate balance sheet seems so brilliant today.

“COVID is distorting the situation: we are not proud,” said Environment Minister Benoit Charette, on the sidelines of the presentation of the report on the climate action implemented by the government in 2020. We are well aware that there is a pandemic effect. »

Impossible, however, to know the exact part played by COVID-19 in the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Quebec in 2020. “We risked ourselves, but without arriving at a valid estimate, explains the minister. It is really the next few years that will be revealing. »

Even in the absence of reliable data to calculate the effect of the pandemic on Quebec’s polluting emissions in 2020, the government maintains that its action alone would have made it possible to reduce GHGs by 20% compared to 1990 levels.

“The pandemic has obviously played an important role, recognizes Mr. Charette. However, there is no indication that we would not have reached the 2020 target without the pandemic. »

The minister claims to present this report “without fanfare or trumpet” because of the uncertainty created by the pandemic. A restraint that contrasts with the confidence trumpeted in a press release, where the government states bluntly that “after a first year of starting the Plan for a Green Economy 2030 (PEV 2030), the data show that Quebec will be able to achieve its ambitions”.

Discounts in detail

The PEV drawn up by the government promises to reduce GHG emissions by 37.5%, at the end of the decade, compared to 1990. “The march, admits Mr. Charette, remains high. The past tends to prove him right: in theQuebec inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019the Ministry of the Environment indicates that “from 1990 to 2019, GHG emissions in Quebec decreased by 2.7%”.

The GHG inventory presented on Wednesday shows that between 2019 and 2020, emissions fell by 10.5%, to stand at 13.2% below the 1990 level. This reduction can be seen in all areas: transport, industries, residential, commercial and institutional sectors.

The carbon market between California and Quebec has also contributed to improving the province’s climate balance. In 2020, Quebec emitters purchased emission rights representing a reduction of 11.4 Mt eq. CO2. The share of these acquisitions, in the balance sheet presented on Wednesday, amounts to 13.4% of GHG emissions for the year 2020.

Transport, an “Achilles heel”

Transportation remains the largest source of pollution in Quebec, by far, accounting for 42.8% of Quebec emissions in 2020 despite the advent of telework induced by the pandemic. In 2019, this sector generated 44.1% of the pollution in the province.

Minister Benoit Charette rejects any measure aimed at sanctioning the purchase of polluting vehicles despite the explosion in the number of SUVs on the roads of Quebec since 2012. “It is difficult to impose a punishment on the choices when a [option de rechange] is not available,” he explains.

According to him, the territory explains Quebecers’ enthusiasm for SUVs. “We have a much larger and less dense territory than in Europe, that dictates certain choices among consumers,” continues the minister, who recalls that his government has “more than 50 billion dollars” of investments in transport. collective in its boxes.

However, the government continues to spend many more billions on the maintenance and expansion of the road network than on public transport. In Minister Eric Girard’s last budget, the government allocated $13.7 billion to public transit. Road infrastructure, meanwhile, was entitled to more than double.

According to the Minister, the lion’s share went to the maintenance of the network. “I don’t think there are many people who would ask us not to maintain our roads. As long as there is no[options de rechange], underlines Mr. Charette, I will never condemn the use of the car. When there [en] aura, I will encourage people, with very real incentives, to take public transit. »

Québec solidaire sharply criticized the report presented Wednesday by the ministry, seeing a report that “demolishes the jovialism of François Legault in the environment”.

“Without a pandemic, Quebec’s balance sheet would be written in red ink,” explains the second opposition party in a press release. Transportation is still our Achilles’ heel, and the CAQ is making the problem worse by underfunding public transit and encouraging urban sprawl with projects like the third link. »

An online dashboard

In an “unprecedented accountability exercise”, Minister Benoit Charette also inaugurated the Quebec government’s climate action dashboard. Accessible online, it must “allow laypersons as well as specialists” to follow the impact of the decarbonization measures implemented by the Quebec government.

It can be seen that the electrification of transport is not taking off with a bang in the province. The urban bus fleet is only 1.5% electrified, while less than 140,000 electric cars are in circulation in Quebec – or 8.6% of the fleet planned for 2030, estimated at 1.6 million electric cars. .

“These results represent the year of implementation of our actions,” said Minister Benoit Charette. The financial incentives granted by the provincial and the federal government to the purchase of electric vehicles, combined with the regulations which should prohibit the sale of gas-powered cars in 2030, “will make it possible to see the results multiply over the next few years”.

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