Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?

Quebec’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are, on a per capita basis well below the Canadian average and close to those of developed European countries. The availability of zero-emission hydroelectric energy enables Quebec to keep its emissions at the level of those European countries, although its pe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sebastian Weissenberger
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Éditions en environnement VertigO
Series:VertigO
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/3989
_version_ 1797223540694450176
author Sebastian Weissenberger
author_facet Sebastian Weissenberger
author_sort Sebastian Weissenberger
collection DOAJ
description Quebec’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are, on a per capita basis well below the Canadian average and close to those of developed European countries. The availability of zero-emission hydroelectric energy enables Quebec to keep its emissions at the level of those European countries, although its per capita energy consumption is twice as high as theirs and similar to that of Canada or the United States. However, hydroelectricity only partly explains the lower emissions of Quebec with respect to the Canadian average. The absence of a fossil fuel extraction sector and lower emissions in other sectors such as transport, agriculture and industry also contribute to this trend. An analysis of energy sector indicators over the past two decades suggests that advances in industrial technology, as in the case of the aluminum and magnesium industry and oil prices are far better regulators of greenhouse gas emissions than government policies designed to incite emission reductions. The low energy efficiency and experiences of other countries lead to believe that economic incentives would uncover a significant potential of greenhouse gas emissions through the reduction of energy consumption. In the forthcoming Canadian plan for the implementation of the Kyoto objectives, Quebec should be credited for its lesser emissions and their increase rate and be compelled to follow a less steep emission reduction curve than other provinces with less advantageous GHG budgets.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T02:26:27Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d59b026f0c4c4c73bcda27664e8d67d0
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1492-8442
language fra
last_indexed 2024-04-24T13:38:51Z
publisher Éditions en environnement VertigO
record_format Article
series VertigO
spelling doaj.art-d59b026f0c4c4c73bcda27664e8d67d02024-04-04T09:07:26ZfraÉditions en environnement VertigOVertigO1492-84425110.4000/vertigo.3989Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?Sebastian WeissenbergerQuebec’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are, on a per capita basis well below the Canadian average and close to those of developed European countries. The availability of zero-emission hydroelectric energy enables Quebec to keep its emissions at the level of those European countries, although its per capita energy consumption is twice as high as theirs and similar to that of Canada or the United States. However, hydroelectricity only partly explains the lower emissions of Quebec with respect to the Canadian average. The absence of a fossil fuel extraction sector and lower emissions in other sectors such as transport, agriculture and industry also contribute to this trend. An analysis of energy sector indicators over the past two decades suggests that advances in industrial technology, as in the case of the aluminum and magnesium industry and oil prices are far better regulators of greenhouse gas emissions than government policies designed to incite emission reductions. The low energy efficiency and experiences of other countries lead to believe that economic incentives would uncover a significant potential of greenhouse gas emissions through the reduction of energy consumption. In the forthcoming Canadian plan for the implementation of the Kyoto objectives, Quebec should be credited for its lesser emissions and their increase rate and be compelled to follow a less steep emission reduction curve than other provinces with less advantageous GHG budgets.https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/3989environmentelectricityenergygreenhouse gasesemissionsexternalities
spellingShingle Sebastian Weissenberger
Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?
VertigO
environment
electricity
energy
greenhouse gases
emissions
externalities
title Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?
title_full Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?
title_fullStr Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?
title_full_unstemmed Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?
title_short Le Québec élève-modèle du Canada dans le dossier des émissions de gaz à effet de serre : concours de circonstances ou l’exemple à suivre?
title_sort le quebec eleve modele du canada dans le dossier des emissions de gaz a effet de serre concours de circonstances ou l exemple a suivre
topic environment
electricity
energy
greenhouse gases
emissions
externalities
url https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/3989
work_keys_str_mv AT sebastianweissenberger lequebecelevemodeleducanadadansledossierdesemissionsdegazaeffetdeserreconcoursdecirconstancesoulexempleasuivre