The Advisory Committee on Climate Change advises the government that, given the scale of the climate crisis, Quebec “cannot afford to back down in response to temporary circumstances” and must adopt a GHG reduction target of 85 per cent for 2050, and maintain, at a minimum, that of 37.5 per cent compared to the 1990 level.
These are two of the eleven recommendations included in the eighth opinion of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change submitted to the Minister of the Environment, Bernard Drainville, who is due to present Quebec’s new climate targets soon.
The opinion, requested by the Legault government, also includes the implementation of five-year carbon budgets.
To be “on the right side of history”
The fight against climate change must not be dependent on the geopolitical context, warns the lead scientific committee that advises the government on climate change.
“Human societies will inevitably have to succeed in this transition; Quebec society must continue to move forward and progress in a coherent and lucid manner by following a credible, ambitious and structuring trajectory, allowing it to be on the right side of history, science and the economy,” reads the sixty-page notice published Tuesday morning.
Revise the target
The opinion, a document of about sixty pages entitled “Defining Quebec’s climate ambition: targets and decarbonization trajectories”, mentions that, in accordance with section 46.4 of the Environment Quality Act, “the emissions reduction target for 2030 must not be less than 37.5 per cent” and that it should even be revised upwards and that ideally, it should reach 45 per cent GHG reduction by 2030 compared to the 1990 level.
The committee of scientists appointed by the government of François Legault also proposes “intermediate targets for net emissions reduction of 60 per cent in 2035 and 78 per cent in 2040”.
Quebec should aim for carbon neutrality by 2045 “by combining a target of reducing emissions by 85 per cent compared to the 1990 level and a target of permanently sequestrating residual emissions equivalent to 15 per cent”.
Gradually integrate carbon sequestration
According to forest soil specialist Évelyne Thiffault, one of the committee members, “the land and forestry sector is a net source of GHGs and does not yet have a reduction target; this situation must be addressed. It is also necessary to distinguish and make proper use of natural sequestration, which is more temporary, from geological sequestration, which is more permanent but still under development.”
Five-year carbon budgets
Scientists also suggest putting in place “carbon budgets and sectoral roadmaps to better define the decarbonization trajectory and increase stakeholder engagement.”
Typically, a carbon budget defines the number of cumulative carbon-related emissions allowed over a certain period of time, for example, over five years.
So, the government would offer a roadmap or trajectory, to indicate the carbon emission limits that each major sector of the economy should respect.
The opinion emphasizes that this type of tool, “widely used internationally,” would allow for efficient planning of transformations in transport, industry, construction and agriculture, as well as in the land and forestry sector.
The Legault government is about to make an “official review” of Quebec’s climate targets.
“This opinion proposes a coherent vision: to make decarbonization and climate resilience a true societal project, one that fosters technological and social innovation, prosperity and equity. Our intention is therefore to foster an open and informed dialogue with all actors in Quebec society in order to promote the collective adoption of ambitious objectives that chart a decarbonization trajectory commensurate with the climate emergency and the aspirations of Quebec society,” wrote Alain Webster, Chair of the Committee.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
