For a third consecutive election, Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe has pledged to run his campaign tour without producing greenhouse gas emissions.
The pledge would take the form of investments in projects that reduce an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emissions for each tonne of pollution produced by his bus or plane used throughout the campaign.
The Bloc will contribute $34.80 to Planetair to offset each tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions produced by Duceppe’s tour up until May 2.
“The environment has an important place among the priorities of Quebecers and that’s why the Bloc has made the protection of our environment one if its main priorities since the beginning,” said Duceppe.
According to its website, Planetair is a Montreal-based not-for-profit service launched in 2005 to help people, businesses and other organizations reduce their carbon footprint. It is managed by the Unisféra International Center, a non-profit Montreal research and consulting centre whose mission is to contribute to the advancement of sustainable development in Canada and around the world.
The Bloc has signed an agreement with Planetair for the carbon offsets and an independent third party would be responsible for calculating the emissions of Duceppe’s tour during the campaign.
The Bloc’s investments in Planetair would then be used in an array of projects aimed at replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, implementing new energy efficiency projects and technologies to reduce emissions.
“We follow through on our words with actions and once again several thousand dollars will have been invested, at the end of this campaign, for various projects targeting energy efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gases,” Duceppe said.
Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.
Peer-reviewed research by scientists say that human activity is the main cause through changes in land use, deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline.
Scientists and governments from around the world have agreed that humans must dramatically reduce their carbon footprint in order to avoid dangerous and irreversible changes to the planet’s ecosystems.
