A person jogs next to a backdrop of the Montreal skyline as ice fog rises off the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. The Quebec government is crediting the COVID-19 pandemic for helping the province surpass its climate change targets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
QUEBEC – The Quebec government is crediting the COVID-19 pandemic for helping the province surpass its climate change targets.
Quebec cut emissions from greenhouse gases – which trap heat and warm the planet – by almost 27 per cent compared to 1990 levels between 2013-2020.
The province’s goal was to cut emissions by 20 per cent over that period.
Environment Minister Benoit Charette says Quebec surpassed its target because of the pandemic-induced economic slowdown and drop in car traffic.
Charette says that while emissions from the transportation sector dropped between 2019 and 2020, they increased steadily from 2013 to 2020.
He says the government expects a rebound in emissions due to the post-pandemic economic recovery, as Quebec seeks to cut emissions by 37.5 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2022.
