Safe transportation of oil.

Safe transportation of oil.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by subsidizing electric cars.

The costs of an accelerated transition toward green energies and the willingness of Canadians to pay these costs.

Policies designed to accelerate the transition to green energy sources are usually presented in terms of their benefits, whereas costs are rarely discussed. This Research Paper proposes to fill this gap in the public debate. It examines the costs of proposals made by the Quebec environmentalist groups Équiterre and Vivre en ville for rapidly reducing oil consumption, as well as the willingness of Quebecers and other Canadians to pay those costs.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by subsidizing electric cars.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by subsidizing electric cars.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by subsidizing electric cars.

While there were only 100,000 electric cars in the world at the beginning of 2012, the number of units on the road passed the 400,000 mark in early 2014. The subsidies offered by various governments have had a lot to do with this very rapid increase. These are motivated in large part by reduction targets for greenhouse gases (GHGs) and for the consumption of petroleum products. In Canada, the transportation sector emits nearly a quarter (24%) of all GHGs. This is why Ontario and Quebec are proposing incentives to electrify personal transportation.

The energy consumption of Quebec.