[ad_1]
The Quebec government wants to bring more people into electric cars and power more industries and homes with hydropower as part of its commitment to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Premier François Legault announced his government’s long-awaited plan to tackle climate change this morning, after one of the main elements was revealed over the weekend: a ban on the sale of new gas vehicles, starting in 2035.
The government is dedicating $ 6.7 billion over the next five years to tackling climate change. Most of that money will go into subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles.
Climate change experts and environmental activists say it will not be enough to put the province on track to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 29 million tons of CO2 by 2030 and that more money should be invested in transportation. public and climate change mitigation.
The ban on gas vehicles will not extend to commercial vehicles, nor to the sale of second-hand cars.
Legault told the press conference on Monday that the plan was made with regions in mind and fits the “way that Quebec is”.
“People don’t have a choice of having a pick-up or a car. And very often people who have less means are the ones who would be most affected,” he said.
Environment Minister Benoît Charette said the provincial government will provide an annual update on the progress of the emissions target.
Catherine Gauthier, who heads the environmental lobby group ENvironnement JEUnesse, said the Legault government’s goals lack ambition.
“The Quebec government has not been able to demonstrate that its plan for a green economy meets the demands of climate science,” Gauthier said.
Prior to the announcement, Pierre-Olivier Pineau, one of Quebec’s foremost energy policy experts, said that looking forward to a 2035 ban on gas vehicles has every ambition to “ban rotary phones” today.
Electric vehicle technology is already developing at a pace that will make it dominant by 2035. Making a big deal with the ban, Pineau said, makes the announcement more innovative than it actually is.
Between 2007 and 2014, Quebec reduced its emissions by approximately 10 million tons. But between 2014 and 2017 (latest available data), emissions actually increased slightly.
That increase has coincided with record-high gas consumption as Quebec citizens buy more and more SUVs.
At present, more than 40% of Quebec’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, particularly from cars and trucks that burn fossil fuels.
Patrick Bonin, a climate and energy activist at Greenpeace Canada, said the province needs to invest more money in public transportation to keep cars off the road.
“We will need many more subways, trams, express lanes, possibly an extension of the REM to make sure public transport is more competitive,” he said.
Source link
