The rule of the 3rd link connected with GHGs

With due respect to the Legault government, the Federal Environmental Survey may affect the fate of the Third Link Project between Quebec and its south coast, which could affect Canada’s international obligations to reduce carbon emissions. .

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Canadian Environment Minister Steven Gilbelt recently announced that the federal government wants to conduct its own environmental assessment of the controversial Quebec-Lewis tunnel.

The Canadian Impact Assessment Agency is awaiting the CAQ’s third motorway link project announcement to determine if a federal study is actually underway.

If so, it will particularly explore the implications of projects within the jurisdiction of migratory birds and fish, aquatic life and their habitats.

But its mandate did not end there. Under the latest reform of the environmental assessment process, the company is now also measuring the effects of a plan to achieve Canadian targets based on GHG emissions in the country and climate change.

“The impact assessment report must demonstrate the extent to which the effects of a designated plan to fulfill the Government of Canada’s obligations in terms of climate change are detrimental or contributing,” the holder notes. -Speaking Agency, Jean-Rydel Pasigura.

Therefore, a plan should not slow down the GHG emissions reduction targets of the Paris Agreement for 2030 or the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Prevention is possible

Prior to departure for COP26, Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charet warned that no study could prevent the construction of a tunnel under the river, even led by the federal government.

“It’s a copy of money, copying time that is not produced under the circumstances and the federal government could not, ultimately, stop this kind of infrastructure construction,” he said.

Not so soon, Gerard de Lazas Saint-Janice, a professor of environmental law at Laval University, responded.

“I think it is not possible for the federal government to block this project,” he notes in an interview. It cannot be said at this stage that the Central Government is incapable of conducting its environmental assessment and will not have the power to prevent the project from taking place.

Mr. According to de las Saint-Genesis, it remains to be seen whether the tunnel project will harm the international commitments made by Canada before the Quebec government demands victory.

“The issue of climate change is becoming important, and I think it will be a central component of this assessment, what impact it will have, not only on the construction of the project, but also on the number of vehicles (…)) in addition to what it will bring in terms of GHG emissions,” the professor emphasizes. .

Tons of concrete

Greenpeace’s Patrick Bonin recalled that Canada’s GHG reduction targets should be revised upwards in the months following the brand new Glasgow agreement.

“I do not know how this 3rd annexation plan fits Canada’s intentions for the 2030s, with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, (…) (even less) and the more ambitious intent of respecting science, (where) no significant increase in GHG emissions has been recognized.

An environmental activist says the federal agency will also examine the pollution caused by the tributary connection before cars, trucks and buses ply there. Patrick Bonin underscores that the production of the “astronomical amount of concrete” needed to build the nine-kilometer-long “world’s largest tunnel” will inevitably produce a lot of GHG.

Thousands of vehicles daily

Expected ride

• Simulations obtained by 3 so far^e The connection allows daily traffic to be trusted 50,000 to 55,000 vehicles.

Costs

• The construction of the tunnel between is estimated $ 6 and $ 7 billion, The amount added to the balance for contingencies and borrowing expenses 10 To do 35% Invoice.

Chronology

• The tunnel is planned to be constructed 2031, But François Legault wants to speed up its construction.
• Preparations begin near Lewis, In 2022.

Template

• There will be a tunnel 8,3 km.
• His success, it is 19,4 m In diameter, include Two levels, One in each direction, three lanes for each, one of which is reserved for public transport.

Access points

• The entrance to the tunnel on the Lewis side is in the Mgr Bourget field, Near the Desjardins group campus.
• Leading the tunnel In the field of ExpoCité / Fleur-de-Lys.
• Two underground stations provide tram access via an elevator, On Parliament Hill And In the garden of Jean-Paul-L’Allier.

See also …