Traffic in Montreal in November, 2024. Growing evidence suggests Canadian federal and provincial governments are unlikely to meet emissions targets.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Quebec is postponing its 2030 emission-cuts deadline by five years, citing threats to jobs and the economy.
The time to reach the goal has been extended to buffer the province in a time of uncertainty, the government said when it made the announcement on Thursday. It’s a “pragmatic approach” that does not sacrifice Quebec’s commitment to fighting climate change, Environment Minister Bernard Drainville said.
The announcement comes amid growing evidence that Canadian federal and provincial governments are unlikely to meet emissions targets. Data published last month by Environment and Climate Change Canada projected the country will fall far short of its goal to slash emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.
However, the federal government has not officially backed away from its 2030 goal, with Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin last month insisting Ottawa is still committed to the target.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s Auditor-General in October reported that the province would miss its 2030 emissions target by a wide margin.
The B.C. government has also admitted it will likely miss its target.
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Quebec’s decision means there will be more work to do later to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, as the province has pledged, said Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Climate Institute, a non-partisan research charity.
“What would be important to see is the Quebec government coming forward with some new policy approaches to try to close this gap,” he said. “I didn’t see any such policy announcements out of the Quebec minister today.”
The Quebec government had promised to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 37.5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030, but now that’s been postponed until 2035. The province said it has cut emissions by 20 per cent since 1990.
In fact, the majority of that 20-per-cent cut comes from reductions made outside Quebec, according to government figures. They are related to carbon credits purchased through the province’s cap-and-trade system, which has been linked to California’s since 2014. Emissions within the province declined just 8.5 per cent between 1990 and 2023.
Quebec has signalled for months that it might weaken its climate targets, claiming it should not be punished for its ambition. Last fall, Premier François Legault told Radio-Canada that Quebec “cannot be the only state in North America making an effort” to fight climate change.
The province has maintained its cap-and-trade system despite Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to scrap the federal consumer carbon price last year.
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But Mr. Smith said it’s “not the case that Quebec is trying harder than other places.” The province’s per capita emissions are low in large part owing to its abundance of hydroelectricity, he said.
Last fall, Quebec’s advisory committee on climate change urged the government to maintain or strengthen its 2030 target and said the province should be “on the right side of history.”
On Thursday, the committee called Quebec’s decision a reduction in climate ambition that will make it harder to reach long-term goals.
In September, Quebec also lifted a ban on the sale of gas-powered cars that would have taken effect in 2035. Instead, it said 90 per cent of new vehicle sales should be hybrid or electric by then.