Quebec should strengthen climate targets despite rollback in the U.S., says committee

MONTREAL — An expert committee says Quebec needs to maintain its ambition to address climate change despite a U.S. government that disputes climate science.

Quebec’s advisory committee on climate change says the government should keep or increase its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 37.5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

It says Quebec should also aim to reach carbon neutrality by 2045 instead of the current target of 2050.

The Quebec government requested the committee’s recommendations as it revises the province’s climate targets, which it is required to do every five years.

Premier François Legault has recently suggested his government could relax certain environmental policies and has said Quebec cannot be the only jurisdiction in North America making an effort to fight climate change.

The United Nations says the United States — the world’s richest nation and second-biggest carbon polluter — is rolling back environmental regulations and hindering green energy projects.

But the committee says Quebec must move forward with a climate plan that will allow it to be “on the right side of history.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2025.

— With files from The Associated Press.