2050 is Too Late to Meet Carbon Neutrality

The City of Montreal and the federal government are taking steps to go carbon neutral by 2050, but some say this is too late to slow climate change and prevent climate disaster. Some scientific studies say we have 8 years until we reach the zone of dangerous climate disaster.

The City of Montreal is also planning to plant 500,000 trees to become the greenest city in North America and plans to have a 55% reduction of carbon by 2030.

François Geoffroy, spokesperson for La Planète s'invite au Parlement, a coalition that mobilizes governments to respond immediately to climate action, said both being carbon neutral by 2050 and having a 55% carbon reduction by 2030 is not enough.

Geoffroy said to avoid a global temperature of 1.5ºC, the whole world needs to participate in becoming carbon neutral – but he said many countries are falling short on their promises. The planet will be in a dangerous state of climate change once the Earth's temperature reaches 1.5ºC, some scientific studies suggest the planet will reach this temperature by 2030.

The City of Montreal will also begin applying a climate test on all city decisions to ensure greenhouse gas emissions are limited and beneficial impacts on the climate are maximized.  

Geoffroy says the plan includes great ideas, but that a zero-oil future needs to be planned. He told Local 514, “Anyone telling you we can be carbon neutral and burn oil and gas is trying to sell you unicorns.”

On September 23, La Planète s'invite au Parlement will be striking with 23 unions and student associations in Quebec and 9 cities in Quebec, including Montreal, to apply pressure on the provincial government to take climate action, ahead of the provincial election.

"Montreal is taking steps they should have taken 20 to 30 years ago," said Geoffroy.