Quebec’s ability to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets could be jeopardized by future fossil fuel production, according to two environmental assessment reports made public by the provincial government this week.
“Exploitation of hydrocarbons creates a number of sustainable development challenges for all stakeholders (business, government, local communities, civil society), particularly in relation to greenhouse gas emissions,” states a report on the province’s overall energy production profile. Over the long term, oil and gas production is “hard to reconcile with Quebec’s objectives for fighting climate change,” the report notes, adding that fossil production within the province will increase the cost of emissions cuts between 2030 and 2050.
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The second report found that a controversial proposal to produce oil and gas on Anticosti Island would produce 1.4 to 4.0 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, representing 2% to 6% of Quebec’s 2020 emissions target. That would be enough to compromise the provincial government’s ability to meet its carbon reduction goals, Le Devoir reports.
“Fossil fuel development on Quebec territory will inevitably increase the level of greenhouse gas emissions,” the overview report states. “Those emissions would, however, be subject to an emissions cap,” unlike the province’s current fossil imports. (h/t to iPolitics for first pointing us to this story)
