MRCs given funding to inventory, reduce greenhouse gas emissions

MRCs given funding to inventory, reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The Quebec government has provided funding to municipal bodies to quantify their greenhouse gas emissions and implement a plan to reduce them.

The program to accelerate the local climate transition (ATCL), as it is called, is an investment of $500 million from the province as part of their 2030 green economy plan. At the MRC Pontiac meeting in April, council approved a resolution to create an account with the local Caisse Desjardins for the $1.4 million it has been allocated to create and implement its plan.

MRC environmental coordinator Kari Richardson explained that Pontiac, along the other three MRCs in the Outaouais (Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, Papineau, and des Collines) had agreed to work together on the file, with des Collines taking the lead on hiring a company to conduct an inventory of their emissions. The call for tenders for the initial phase closed on May 2.

Once the inventory is complete, an action plan must be approved by the Ministry of Environment before the MRCs can move forward with efforts to reduce their emissions. Richardson said that they are in the very early stages of the program, adding that they would be meeting with representatives from the ministry over the summer to go over further details on their obligations under the funding agreement.