The Quebec government has now mapped out how it is going to achieve 60 per cent of its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, Premier François Legault said Friday as he announced an updated green economy plan.
The third edition of the province’s green plan details increased funding for greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation first announced within the March provincial budget. The province this yr added $1.4 billion for the plan, bringing the entire to $9 billion over five years.
Legault said Quebec already has the bottom emissions per capita in North America and he wants that to be remain true in 2030
“We’re really a pacesetter, and with the plan that was tabled today, we should always still be the primary,” he told reporters in Montreal.
The province is aiming to scale back greenhouse gas emissions to 37.5 per cent below 1990 levels — a discount to 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide per resident from nine. The plan focuses on the transport and manufacturing sectors, which account for 40 per cent of emissions within the province.
Among the many measures within the plan are greater than $500 million to support the development of charging stations for electric vehicles, as the federal government looks to bring the number of electrical vehicles on Quebec roads to 2 million.
The plan also includes $1 billion to scale back the carbon footprint of buildings, that are accountable for almost 10 per cent of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions. About $215 million of that cash will help fund projects for thermal waste treatment — methods that transform waste into energy that could be used for things like heating.
Legault said the federal government plans to create a rating system to evaluate the energy performance of huge buildings.
Patrick Bonin, a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Canada, said Quebec is coasting on the undeniable fact that most of its electricity comes from renewable sources and argued the plan doesn’t go far enough. He said he’d wish to see more regulations, as a substitute of billions of dollars in incentives.
“It’s a number of carrots and no sticks,” he told reporters Friday.
The previous version of the plan included measures geared toward getting halfway to the province’s reduction goal. Legault said he’s counting on technological advances to assist the province hit 100 per cent of its goal by 2030.
While Bonin said the plan includes some good elements, equivalent to the funding in electric vehicle charging stations, he said, it isn’t credible when it counts on future technologies to realize 40 per cent of its emission reduction targets.
“Quebec is just not on target to achieve and respect its greenhouse gas reduction goal by 2030, and that is kind of a priority,” he said.
