Quebecers live in a state of “energy intoxication” which threatens the achievement of our climate objectives and the protection of the environment, warns the Chair of management of the energy sector of HEC Montreal in a new report, which puts highlights our ever-increasing appetite for sport utility vehicles and the lack of ambition to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Even if we talk more than ever about the need to fight against the climate and biodiversity crises, but also to accelerate the energy transition, “the trends are not going in the right direction”, notes the 2023 edition of the ‘State of energy in Quebec, which is published on Monday.
Once the brutal effect of the pandemic had passed, the return to a certain normality obviously pushed up sales of petroleum products. Quebec now consumes nearly 18 billion liters per year, and this level of consumption “should be maintained until 2030,” warns the holder of the Chair in Energy Sector Management at HEC Montreal, Pierre -Olivier Pineau. The province also broke, in 2021, “a sales record” for diesel for road transport, with more than 3.6 billion liters, or 270 million liters more than the previous record, set in 2019.
Much of our enduring dependence on oil has been driven by our appetite for gasoline-powered personal vehicles, including the unprecedented popularity of “trucks,” a category that includes vans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks. . Sales in this category have increased by 253% between 1990 and 2021, to the point of representing 71% of sales in the province in 2021.
“In the absence of eco-fiscal policies or regulatory restrictions on the purchase and use of individual vehicles, I fear that the trend towards the disappearance of the car and the omnipresence of SUVs will continue,” underlines Mr. Pineau. . However, he adds, “the proliferation of SUVs is very bad news for urban sprawl and land use, because it encourages less density. It is also a catastrophe for household and infrastructure costs, because SUVs and roads are very expensive”. The report specifies that the sums paid for the “trucks” alone reached $14.2 billion in 2021, an amount up 692% compared to 1990.
To reduce our energy consumption in transportation, Pierre-Olivier Pineau considers it necessary to encourage telecommuting and carpooling, but also active and public transportation. He also believes that imposing taxes on mileage and parking would discourage solo car use. “The revenue from these taxes could finance public transit, which would become more attractive and induce a virtuous circle of changes in habits: less individual transport because it is more expensive, funding more more accessible public transport. »
Electrified SUVs
The Legault government has always refused to consider restricting advertising on SUVs or even imposing special taxation on vehicles, for example for the most polluting, preferring to focus on the electrification of Quebecers’ personal vehicles. According to data listed in the State of Energy 2023, electric vehicles accounted for 9% of new vehicle sales in 2021 and now account for just over 5% of vehicles on the road.
Interestingly, 57% of these sales were in the truck category. However, “an electric SUV can consume 50% more energy than an electric car”, which does not bode well for electricity demand in the coming years. “Even electric, SUVs will be an energy disaster,” Mr. Pineau drops. “The demand on the electricity grid will be even greater with these vehicles than with cars. Charging and peaking challenges are going to be even tougher than they could have been with simple electric cars. »
Moreover, these electric SUVs do not make it possible to reduce the use of individual vehicles or to transfer users to other modes of transport. Not to mention that the “environmental footprint” of SUVs is also “problematic” when taking into account the life cycle of the vehicle, he specifies.
“While the government talks about energy sobriety, the trend on the roads is going in the opposite direction, underlines the report published Monday, referring to a state of” energy inebriation “. “Our levels of energy consumption are collectively not responsible. In view of our environmental ambitions for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but also for the protection of the territory and biodiversity, we consume far too much energy. The impacts of consumption and production systems are too great compared to what nature can support sustainably,” explains Pierre-Olivier Pineau.
For example, he points out that per capita energy consumption in the transportation sector is twice as high in Quebec as in Germany, due to a generalized lack of efficiency and shortcomings in the development of public transport.
According to him, it is therefore urgent to reduce our consumption, before deciding on the means to be taken to produce more renewable energy to meet our needs. “All the incentives — information, regulations and tariffs — must guide consumers, whether residential, commercial or industrial, towards lower energy consumption,” argues the holder of the chair in energy management. This can go through changes in modes of transport, but also through the renovation of the building stock and the idea of promoting the circular economy in the industrial sector.
Pierre-Olivier Pineau also warns against centralizing decisions within political power. “We must also avoid making people believe that the energy transition only requires economic development and new industries. Above all, it requires transforming our energy systems, which opens up several development opportunities, but above all opportunities to be more efficient. Efficiency gains are the basis of productivity gains, which could make Quebec both richer and cleaner. »