Quebec’s energy transition: a concerted vision and it’s time!

For the past few weeks, the reports have been following each other… and are alike! At the end of February, the IPCC published the last part of its 6th assessment report entitled Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. He argues that global warming above 1.5°C will lead to serious, even irreversible consequences, and that only a rapid and sustained reduction in CO2 emissions can keep the increase in temperatures below 2 degrees.

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Last week, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) informs us that this dreaded temperature rise could occur, temporarily, within the next five years. In light of these alarming findings, the urgency of accelerating Quebec’s energy transition, with a view to combating climate change, has become a priority. But what is holding back this transformation and how can these obstacles be overcome?

At Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Operationalization of Sustainable Development (CIRODD), we believe that the answer to these questions is clear: the absence of a systemic vision. Indeed, we need to consider the best approach to adopt to accelerate the energy transition and stop segmenting the fight against climate change by niches of expertise, where everyone works in silos on their side.

We must combine our efforts, but above all our knowledge, whether scientific, academic, technical or from the field. We must approach the problems both from the point of view of the fundamental and applied sciences and from that of the human and social sciences, in order to identify concrete and socially acceptable solutions that reflect all the dimensions of a reality.

Finally, we must rethink the structures and systems of our society in order to develop a concerted strategy that leaves room for sustainable innovations.

Quebec is recognized worldwide as a leader in research and development. We only have to think of what is being done here in terms of artificial intelligence or the electrification of transport. However, these innovations struggle to be deployed more widely due to a rigid bureaucratic apparatus, outdated processes and regulatory constraints that do not take into account the current and future needs of our society. Without all these hindrances, we could already greatly improve our energy balance.

This sad observation we have come to is shared by several renowned experts, if we go back to the discussions held within the framework of the panel A systemic vision of the future of energy in Quebec: possible solutions for a fair and equitable energy transitionorganized by the CIRODD, on April 28th.

Circular economy, energy efficiency, electrification of industries, use of bioenergy and hydrogen, consolidation of training, radical transformation of regulations, behaviors and markets: all the possible solutions mentioned by the panelists to promote Quebec’s energy transition seem to confirm this new systemic approach.

Hurry up. We can no longer wait for a “magic solution” to come from science or from a higher authority. We must collectively dare and take responsibility to do things differently, starting now. Innovation necessarily comes with its share of risk. If these unknowns can be frightening, they are less so than what awaits us if we do nothing.

More than ever, we need a game plan, a systemic and concerted vision where everyone knows what he and she must do to achieve a common goal: a fair and equitable energy transition in Quebec!

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