LAVAL, QUE. -- The city of Laval announced that it is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 33 per cent by 2035.
The target was set taking into account the significant demographic increase expected in the city north of Montreal over the next few years.
Laval is the third most populous city in Quebec with nearly 450,000 inhabitants, and the municipal government intends to assess the reduction potential by priority sector by involving a feasibility analysis. This will allow it to adjust the emission reduction potentials according to the results.
With regard to the road transport sector, which represents 70 per cent of GHG emissions in Laval, the city indicates that it is supported by the Sustainable Mobility Research Chair at Polytechnique Montréal in order to identify potential reductions of GHGs based on the 2035 horizon.
Since 2016, Laval has already carried out annual monitoring of its greenhouse gas emissions, which has enabled it to obtain a more precise analysis of the reduction potentials.
In the meantime, municipal authorities have prepared programs to reduce GHG emissions, such as the payment of subsidies for electric bicycles and for the replacement of an oil heating system with an electric system. Door-to-door collection of refrigeration appliances was also organized.
Laval is also planning the electrification of all buses by 2040, LEED certification for all new municipal buildings and the construction of an anaerobic digestion plant to transform organic matter into biogas.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2020.
