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The Front commun pour la transition énergétique: uniting to build a ZéN Québec
Montreal, Monday, September 30, 2019 – The Front commun pour la transition énergétique kicked off its « Québec ZéN » project (zero net emissions) this morning. Its goal: to accelerate a just transition to the carbon neutral Québec of tomorrow through a social dialogue process. This approach is based on a Roadmap whose version 1.0 brings together the contributions of the many members who have collaborated on the project in recent months. This version has been tabled today as part of the Quebec government’s consultation on its Electrification and Climate Change Plan (ECCP). It will serve as an anchor for the in-depth exchanges that the Front commun wishes to have over the next six months with key players from all spheres of Quebec society.
« In the current context of a climate emergency, three pressing needs emerge: a clear vision of what a » zero net emission » Quebec could be; coherent guidelines to identify the paths that really lead us there; and the accountability of actors at all levels – collective, organizational, and individual, « explains Carole Dupuis, spokesperson of the Mouvement écocitoyen UNEplanète. « The Québec ZéN project is creating a space for social dialogue in order to provide a speedier community response to the climate emergency, » added Dominique Daigneault, President of the Central Council of Metropolitan Montreal-CSN . « With its membership comprising more than 1.5 million people from the environmental, citizen, union, and community sectors throughout Quebec, the Front commun is a natural meeting point for structuring this dialogue and infuse power into the transition movement as daunting challenges arise, » notes Violaine Brisebois-Lavoie, spokeswoman for the movement La planète s’invite au Parlement.
To unblock the path to a ZéN Quebec, the Front commun proposes to build a shared vision and agree on markers to guide all aspects of the transition including technical and political facets along with the dimension of human rights and social justice. « The transition must be an opportunity to build a more resilient, egalitarian, and environmentally sustainable society. It must leave no one behind and that is why we place human rights and social justice at the heart of our approach, » explains Tristan Ouimet-Savard, of the Quebec Network of Independent Community Action (RQ-ACA).
» With a shared vision and consistent markers, we will be better able to identify priority actions and avoid wasting time in pursuit of false solutions. Admittedly, our project is bold, but it’s not unrealistic: on the contrary, it reflects a consensus as to what is needed as a basis for making decisions in line with reality, « says Maude Prud’homme, energy transition delegate for the Réseau québécois des groupes écologistes.
At the end of the six months of the project, an enriched version of the Roadmap will be made public on Earth Day in April 2020. « In the face of the climate emergency, it is the shifts we are taking today that will make all the difference. Everything will be played out in the 2020s, and we simply have to reach carbon neutrality as soon as possible,” concludes Patrick Bonin, head of Greenpeace’s climate and energy campaign. “Thanks to the breadth and diversity of its membership, The Front commun is well placed to boost this transition. »
Consult the Roadmap for Québec’s Transition to Carbon Neutrality, version 1.0
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Created in 2015, the Front commun pour la transition énergétique is a non-profit organization that brings together nearly 70 environmental, civic, labour, and community organizations to contribute to the collective development and implementation of a structuring energy transition that fosters social justice.
For more info and interview requests:
Éliane Legault-Roy, Public Relations Officer
Cell. : 514 692-4762