2021
The end of GNL Québec!
The Quebec government categorically rejects the planned GNL Québec liquefied natural gas plant in the Saguenay following broad local and national mobilization.
Ongoing
Natural gas in Quebec
To make it clear that natural gas has no place in the energy transition.
Équiterre has been working to set the record straight on the devastating impacts of "natural" gas - both its consumption and the development of gas-related infrastructure in Quebec.
The challenge
95%
Natural gas is a fossil fuel consisting of 95% methane, a gas with a global warming potential that is 84 times higher than CO2.
So-called "natural" gas has been wrongly considered an option to transition away from other fossil fuels that emit much more CO2, such as coal. For nearly 10 years, scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that natural gas is not in line with a rapid and significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
Natural gas is a fossil fuel consisting of 95% methane, a gas with a global warming potential that is 84 times higher than CO2 over a 20-year horizon. Natural gas causes considerable climate and environmental damage, not only when it is being used, but also during the production and transportation phases, with a high potential for leaks.
Natural gas is no more or less natural than oil; it's a non-renewable fossil fuel. We therefore call it "fossil gas," a term that is closer to reality.
We need to debunk the myths surrounding "natural gas" and we must reduce its social acceptability, clearly demonstrating how it doesn't help our energy transition or the fight against climate change.
“ Fossil gas is not a transition energy. ”
Équiterre's work
Équiterre has been campaigning for several years, along with other environmental and citizen-based organizations, against fossil gas (natural gas) on three levels: production, transportation and consumption
We have been communicating and documenting the true environmental impacts of fossil gas and the perverse effects of its use on global and local energy trends.
One concrete example of which we are very proud is our fierce opposition and the success of the movement against the GNL Quebec natural gas project, which threatened the climate, our ecosystems and our health.
Objectives
- Ensure that so-called “natural" gas is not identified by political authorities as a transition energy and act as a watchdog to prevent manipulation by the industry;
- Encourage the Quebec and municipal governments to move away from fossil gas for both industrial use and private consumption;
- Prohibit the expansion of the gas network and ban fossil gas from use in all new construction in Quebec.
Project history
2019
Consultations on Quebec's Electrification and Climate Change Plan
Équiterre reiterates its call for a ban on the construction or expansion of any infrastructure in Quebec that would increase the exploration, production, transportation, distribution or consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
2018
Équiterre highlights disturbing flaws in pipeline safety in Canada.
2016
Équiterre participates in public consultations on the strategic environmental assessment of fossil fuels in Quebec
We call for an end to all fossil fuel development in Quebec, including any projects on Anticosti Island.
2010-2014
The gas industry has its eye on shale gas in Quebec
Équiterre calls for a moratorium on the exploration and exploitation of shale gas in Quebec and demonstrates that developing this industry is likely to compromise the government's climate change goals.
Related content
Project team
Analyst, Climate Policy and Ecological Transition
