Posted at 5:00 p.m.
(Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Quebec is “certainly one of the most active states” on climate change, which explains its significant presence at international conferences such as COP28, welcomes Benoit Charette.
“It can be explained quite simply by our actions and our results,” he said in an interview with La Presse on Saturday, his last day at the conference, on a shaded terrace next to the Quebec government delegation's premises.
Minister Charette had just taken part in a panel discussion on how the protection of biodiversity can contribute to the fight against climate change, in one of the largest rooms of the conference center, a so-called high-level meeting because it brought together the ministers representing the states parties to the Framework Convention of the United Nations on climate change – Canadian Minister for Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault also took part.
PHOTO CHRISTOPHER PIKE, COP28/CHRISTOPHER PIKE
Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault
“We are often the only ones on the panels [comme celui-là]with ministers from the countries,” boasts Benoit Charette.
Beyond these public roundtables, Quebec is also heavily involved in lateral discussions and even in the negotiations, as a representative of the Government of Quebec is part of the Canadian negotiating team, explains the elected official under “Minister of Environment, Fight against Climate Change”. , Wildlife and Parks”.
The minister says he is particularly proud of the Quebec protocol on carbon offset credits for forestry, which his negotiator is “in the process of selling internationally.”
The peculiarity of this protocol is that it is only “payable” after several years when the trees planted have actually sequestered carbon, unlike other protocols where credits are granted upon planting, explains the minister.
Ultimately, it is perhaps the Quebec model that will serve as a reference worldwide. That is the type of leadership we exercise.
Benoit Charette, Quebec Environment Minister
Plea for less “partisanship”
Minister Charette is a little annoyed when we point out the criticism of his government's climate protection in Quebec.
“When we are in opposition, we have to say the government is bad,” he said, calling for partisanship to be put aside to make the fight against climate change more effective.
Benoit Charette wants to lead by example and emphasizes that he is in constant contact with his “liberal colleague” Désirée McGraw, spokesperson of the official opposition for the environment and the fight against climate change, who also took part in COP28.
“We are even talking about a joint project that still needs to be defined in order to work better together [en général, au Québec] “, he mentions and even throws flowers at his opponents.
“Quebec's record: The current government has given it a lot of credibility, but great things have been done before,” he said, pointing in particular to the carbon market, which three different governments have contributed to over the past decade. .
I have never said and will never say that it all started when I became Environment Minister.
Benoit Charette
Public relations “comes with responsibility”
It is “true that Quebec shines at the COP, especially this year,” notes Andréanne Brazeau, climate policy analyst at the Organization Équiterre, which is also attending COP28.
The fact that Quebec co-chairs the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), which advocates for phasing out oil and gas production, “shows the place.” [qu’il] wants to occupy [sur] the international scene,” she explains.
“On the other hand, it brings with it an international responsibility, in Canada and in Quebec,” she immediately adds, suggesting that Minister Charette should use the opportunity to put pressure on Ottawa to be more ambitious in the COP28 exit negotiations be from fossil fuels.
And for Quebec's measures to be “truly complete and coherent,” it should redouble its efforts to reduce its fossil fuel consumption, says Ms. Brazeau.
“It's all well and good not to produce any, but about 50% of the energy we use [tous domaines confondus] is still fossil fuel,” she points out, pointing to “fairly easy” progress that could be made by banning new gas connections, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, curbing urban sprawl and stopping the construction of new road infrastructure.
Benoit Charette agrees: “Our task now is to gradually reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” he says, but argues that this will take time.
“The challenge we face at a structural level is that it takes too much time,” regrets the minister, who considers it unusual that a project such as the extension of the Montreal metro blue line takes 40 years Has lasted.
The same applies to freight transport, which has become overly dependent on truck transport since the decline of the rail and sea transport networks.
“We are about to do it again,” he said, pointing to his administration’s maritime and rail strategies. The train will return to Eastern Quebec. »
Every year more measures are added to combat climate change, recalls Minister Charette, who specifies that during its term in office, his government committed to setting a new target to reduce emissions in Quebec.
“We cannot fix all the mistakes or lack of vision of the past, but we can certainly provide greater leadership,” he said. Being good doesn't mean stopping there. »