Quebec energy minister insists province must reduce reliance on cars to meet GHG objectives

Quebec has to drastically reduce the number of vehicles on the road in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to the province's minister of the economy, innovation and energy.

Pierre Fitzgibbon made the statement to journalists as he headed into a cabinet meeting in Quebec City. He was echoing statements he made Monday, when he suggested that Quebec would need to halve the number of vehicles in order to meet its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets.

As energy minister, Fitzgibbon is responsible for Hydro-Québec and right now, the public utility is trying to plan for higher demand for electricity from industry and consumers, as more switch from fossil fuels to hydro-electric power.

With no more large-scale dams in the works, Hydro is looking at alternative forms of power, from wind and solar to even, possibly, rebooting a mothballed nuclear plant.

But Fitzgibbon says Quebecers need to more than just switch — they need to reduce their energy consumption.

"It's a matter of being consistent and if we want to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, consumer habits need to change significantly," he said.

However, no official car reduction target had been decided by the government, he added.

"I know that Pierre has read a lot of environmental reports this summer," said Premier François Legault, when reporters asked him if Fitzgibbon, whose background is in the business world, had suddenly developed a green streak.

"There are environmentalists proposing to halve the number of cars. Our approach is really to move toward electric cars."

What's most important is making electric cars available, and in large cities, ensuring there's more public transportation, the premier said. 

"But we have to understand that Quebec is large, and in regions, population density doesn't allow us to have public transit everywhere, so we still need to be realistic," he said.

Leagault said he is aiming for an incentive-based rather than coercive strategy.

Currently, there are more than six million passenger vehicles operating in Quebec, including around 170,000 electric automobiles, according to data from the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) as of the end of last year.

Fitzgibbon expressed satisfaction with the reaction to his Monday comments, despite the concerns raised, notably by automobile dealerships. He stressed that people need to accept the necessity of changing our habits.

"If we want to be carbon neutral, we need to be consistent," he said, but the government will never restrict the number of cars one person can own.

"But those who have a social discourse, who want to allow the planet to be free from GHGs by 2050, they will have to understand that there will be changes."

The minister of the environment and the fight against climate change, Benoit Charette, showed support for Fitzgibbon, but suggested he had used a metaphor when it comes to halving the automobile fleet.

"We need to offer additional solutions, and that's what we're currently doing," said Charette, making note of the recent inauguration of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), Montreal's new light-rail network.

Other projects are ongoing, such as lengthening the Blue line in Montreal, he said, "but there was never any talk of halving the automobile fleet."