The Quebec plan to fight against climate change is undergoing a new growth spurt, but the government of François Legault avoids saying how and when it will use its new revenues from the carbon market.
For a second consecutive year, Quebec is taking advantage of the tabling of Eric Girard’s budget to improve the plan for implementing the Plan for a Green Economy (PEV). The Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, will be able to count on an additional $1.4 billion over five years, “mainly from the carbon market”.
These revenues bring the total budget of the PEV, the main tool of the Legault government to fight against climate change, to $9 billion. This amounted to 7.4 billion dollars last year. “We take it extremely seriously,” Finance Minister Eric Girard said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Small problem, however: unlike the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the budget does not reveal when these new sums will be deployed. The implementation plan, which is due out this spring, is not ready. It is also impossible at this stage to know the precise measures that these new resources will finance.
Going into the “blue fund”…
In addition to increasing investments for the “green plan”, the Legault government is jumping with both feet in the protection of water. Eric Girard has set aside $500 million in his budget to launch the “blue fund” promised by the Coalition avenir Québec during the election campaign.
The royalties demanded from companies that extract blue gold from Quebec’s lakes and rivers will be used in “part” to finance it. Benoit Charette has already promised that he would “substantially” increase these revenues, which currently stand at $3 million per year. The Blue Fund will be used in particular to “improve knowledge concerning the evolution of the state of water resources in the territory”.
As part of the Conference of Parties on Biodiversity (COP15) held last December in Montreal, Mr. Charette had also promised that Quebec would achieve the international objectives for nature conservation on time — i.e. protect 30% of the territory by 2030. To do this, Quebec is relying on a “nature plan” worth $443 million, which notably provides for the protection of new natural areas and the design of recovery plans for threatened species.
… and go all out on the roads
Even though greenhouse gas emissions from transportation have increased by 16% between 1990 and 2020 — according to Quebec’s climate report presented in December — planned government investments in roads are still increasing. Sums of $31.5 billion for their maintenance and improvement have been included in the 2023-2033 Québec Infrastructure Plan, compared to $30.7 billion last year.
In comparison, investments in public transport are close to 14 billion.
To ensure the maintenance of a sufficient service offer, however, Quebec loosens the strings of its purse. This year and next year, public transit organizations will be able to benefit from emergency aid of $400 million. The Urban Transport Association of Quebec anticipated deficits of $560 million this year.