Could Quebec be the first North American state to be carbon neutral? Energy minister says it's his goal
Quebec's energy minister has ambitious plans to make the province the first state in North America to be carbon neutral.
Pierre Fitzgibbon was in Montreal Tuesday, speaking in front of a packed crowd as he revealed the lofty goal.
Quebec would have to offset the same amount of carbon dioxide the province emits.
"If I compared to the other jurisdictions, the pressure that exists on public finance, I think we've got the proper allocation of resources to make it happen," he said.
Fitzgibbon said Hydro-Quebec no longer has a surplus of energy, so Quebec has to be strategic in which projects it will invest and carefully allocate its megawatts of energy.
"We are faced with not being able to allocate energy to very good projects," he said, adding that reducing energy consumption is key.
He said that if all homes built before 1960 were properly insulated and had heat pumps, Quebec would save twice the energy produced by the La Romaine hydroelectric complex.
"We need to find incentives to get the proper behaviour, because it's not only about people consuming less electricity, taking a shower at 2 o'clock in the morning, starting their dishwasher at 2 o'clock in the morning. It's about providing the tools, using the current technology, and making them available," he said.
On Monday, Hydro-Quebec's rates increased for consumers, and Fitzgibbon said that it would continue, adding, though, that residential rates are capped at 3 per cent for the short and medium term.
Without going into specifics, Fitzgibbon said he would soon table a bill at the Quebec legislature to give Hydro-Quebec the ability to improve its production.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
'Oh, there you go': Tyler Black, son of veteran broadcaster Rod Black, has memorable Major League Baseball debut
Canadian baseball player Tyler Black made a major splash in his first-ever big league game for the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.
Groundbreaking American guitarist Duane Eddy dies age 86
Guitarist Duane Eddy, best known for twangy riffs on hits such as 'Rebel Rouser' and 'Cannonball,' has died at the age of 86.
Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.