Once we have a policy, we need a “strategy” or an “action plan”, call it what you will. We have to decide on the steps we need to take, to choose projects to tackle in a certain timeframe, and to allocate money to those projects. That is how we proceeded in the Government of Quebec. Governments in Europe are in the process of doing the same. China is far ahead of us. The reality is that, in Canada, we currently have about 100 electric buses on the roads, but in China, they have more than half a million.
We have talked a lot about climate change and the carbon footprint. That is perfectly logical, but we must never forget that air pollution is also an issue. Air pollution is the biggest killer on the planet, and it is caused by what comes out of chimneys on factories and exhaust pipes on vehicles.
In a study published in Canada only a few months ago, in February 2021, I think, the economic cost of air pollution was estimated at $120 billion annually. The transition to renewable energy and clean transportation could help to save thousands of lives. It is estimated that air pollution causes 15,300 deaths each year, eight times more than the deaths caused by traffic accidents.
Moreover, by manufacturing green products for electric transportation, we will be improving people's quality of life and saving billions of dollars. If we export them, we will be saving lives all around the world.
Health is therefore an extremely important issue. We sometimes tend to forget that.