Taxes for polluting would change Quebecers' behaviour, study finds

Montrealers march for green economy A small but vocal crowd marched down Parc Avenue in Montreal this afternoon demanding a transition to a clean economy

MONTREAL — Many more Quebecers believe climate change is a high risk and are more willing to change their habits if governments impose taxes than they were just three years ago, a new study released Sunday on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 26, reveals.

Between the survey by the Interuniversity Research Centre for Organizational Analysis (CIRANO) conducted in 2018 and this year's survey, the proportion of Quebecers who consider climate change to be a great or very great risk rose from 53 per cent to 69 per cent.

"We are really seeing a generalized awareness and a substantial increase in perceived risk," said researcher Ingrid Peignier, who co-authored the article with Professor Nathalie De Marcellis-Warin of Polytechnique Montréal.

The release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report midway through the survey period last summer did not significantly affect the proportion of respondents who perceived the risks of climate change to be high, but it did halve the proportion who felt the risks were low, from 8 to 4 per cent.

In its report, the intergovernmental body created by the United Nations issued a "red alert for humanity" and called for immediate action to address climate change. The experts noted that the Earth's climate is warming so much that temperatures will soon exceed the threshold that world leaders were trying to keep from rising.

Overall, the proportion of respondents classified by the researchers as climate skeptics - those who believe that climate change does not exist or is not caused by human activities - declined from 25 to 17 per cent.

TAX ON POLUTION

The boots, however, don't always follow the shoes.

"When we talk about really concrete actions, the numbers for these elements, especially in mobility, are similar to 2018," said Peignier.

For example, the needle barely moves when respondents are asked if they would take public transit or active transportation (walking, cycling, etc.) more than their car for a trip when possible.

If values don't have a greater impact on behaviour, the researchers pinpointed the incentive that would make a difference: price.

And the evolution is spectacular.

Pelletier explained the progression by the increase in the level of concern of the population regarding the issue.

Sixty-nine per cent of Quebecers would change their habits or behaviours to reduce the impact if there was a tax on gas-guzzlers, compared to 43 per cent in 2018, an increase of 26 points, the article says.

They would also be more likely than three years ago to change their habits to lessen their impact on the climate if a government imposed a tax on waste recovery, water or road tolls.

Overall, the researchers found that respondents who are more concerned about environmental risks are significantly more likely to use public transit rather than their car and 47 per cent were more likely to use active transportation rather than their car, compared to 31 per cent.

The two CIRANO surveys were conducted with a sample of approximately 1,000 respondents representative of the Quebec population.

The 2021 data collection was conducted from Aug. 5 to 15 using an online panel from Léger Marketing. A margin of error cannot be attributed to this survey, as surveys of this type are not considered random samples.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 7, 2021.