MONTREAL -- The Quebec government's entire fleet, including heavy-duty vehicles, will be entirely zero-emission by 2040, Environment and Climate Change Minister Benoit Charette pledged Sunday.
While in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26 on Sunday, Charette set this date to complete the transition to zero-emission vehicles for all heavy-duty trucks in the Quebec government.
This new objective is in addition to the goal of completing the energy transition of the government's light vehicles -- cars, SUVs, vans and minivans -- by 2030, as promised in the Plan for a Green Economy 2030 (PEV 2030) unveiled by Charette a year ago.
t the same time, Quebec has committed to making all its institutional buildings zero-emission, also by 2040.
In a news release, the Minister of the Environment reiterated that the Quebec government must lead by example in the transition to electric vehicles to encourage businesses to do the same.
Charette introduced a bill on Oct. 5 that will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
The minister made the commitments at an event of the Under2 Coalition, a group of sub-national governments that also includes Ontario, British Columbia and several U.S. states.
On Friday, the group presented the first prize in the Leadership Awards 2021 in the "Climate Partnerships" category to Quebec for its collaboration with its peers to accelerate the decarbonization of the global economy.
The government also signed the declaration "Further, Faster, Together: Leaders' Actions", which will lead to the preparation of a national action plan on climate change.
On Sunday, Charette continued his work at COP26 by meeting with climate change ministers from Scotland and Wales.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 7, 2021.
