By Matthew Bramley, Director, Climate Change

Matthew Bramley, Director of the Pembina Institute’s Climate Change program, made the following statement in response to the Bloc Québécois’ platform proposals on climate change:

“The Bloc’s climate platform contains a few strong elements, although it’s very short on details.

The party supports a greenhouse gas target for Canada in 2020 that’s in line with scientific recommendations, plus several of the key federal measures needed to get there. However, the platform does not state targets for most of these measures, and does not outline a comprehensive plan that is clearly capable of cutting emissions to the extent needed.

The Bloc supports putting a price on pollution with a “cap-and-trade” system. This can be an effective approach, but its effectiveness depends on the level of the cap, the date when it would be applied, and the sectors covered. The platform does not provide these details.

The Bloc’s support for California-level emission standards for cars, and its call for the federal government to end tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, are both commendable.

The Bloc has also released a strategy to reduce Québec’s dependence on fossil fuels. The Pembina Institute will comment on this proposal in the coming days.”

The Pembina Institute is a non-partisan sustainable energy think tank.