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The QFIC represents the interests of companies working with softwood and hardwood lumber, plywood, pulp, paper, cardboard and panels, of engineered lumber manufacturers, and of the goods and services companies that support them.
With our foundation on the expertise of ourselves and our partners, the QFIC guides and supports our members on a number of issues, including the environment and energy. As you know, the forest industry is a major engine of economic development for Canada and for Quebec.
In 2019, it paid $4.8 billion in taxes to governments. For the federal government, that represented $50 per cubic metre in 2019. Given the current price of wood, you will understand that the amount is actually well in excess of $50. For the provincial government in 2019, the amount was $100 per cubic metre. Also in 2019, the industry provided 17.4% of Quebec's exports and 4.7% of the province's GDP.
The work that your committee is undertaking today is of major importance for us. In the current context, every action designed to fight climate change counts. The forest industry, which depends on the forest for its raw material, is well positioned to assess the issues of global warming, and its current and future effects on the evolution of the forest ecosystems on which we depend. For our sector, climate change is an inexorable reality with which we must come to grips.
In fact, we have been doing so for a number of years and our performance speaks volumes. Since 1990, the emissions of greenhouse gases, GHGs, attributable to our industrial activities have decreased significantly. The decrease is 68% in total and 60% in intensity, or almost twice the target that Quebec set for itself for 2030. For the same period, the reduction of GHG emissions for all Quebec's industrial sectors combined, has been 24%. In other words, the forest industry has produced almost three times the average reductions.
The paper sector alone has recorded a reduction of 3.1 million tonnes. As a result, it remains a leader, both in Canada and internationally, in terms of pulp and paper production. We began the fight against climate change a number of years ago precisely because we have long been aware that our industry depends on the forest and that we must manage it sustainably. Canada is a leader in this area. In fact, 40% of the certified forests on the planet are found in Canada. Quebec has one quarter of them. That means that 10% of all certified forests are located in our province.
We know full well that battles are not won in advance. We must advance resolutely on all fronts. The energy transition is a key issue for us. The forestry industry consumes a lot of energy. To give you an idea of how much electricity we consume, I can tell you that it is about 40% of what Hydro-Québec Distribution sells. We also need fossil fuels, especially for our forest operations. Each year, to operate the machinery in the forest and to transport the wood, we require no less than 500 million litres of diesel fuel.
Despite the progress we have made up to now, we are aware that greater efforts can and must be made. We are ready for the task. However, the gains that we could make in our industry have in large part been made. Each additional gain requires a greater effort that we cannot make alone. This is exactly why your work is so important. At the QFIC, we are convinced that additional reductions in GHGs will be made possible mostly by renewable low-carbon fuels. We are reassured to see that your committee is addressing that precise issue.
In our view, four major issues must be the focus of your attention. First, the forestry biomass that is currently available is valued in various ways, especially in terms of extracting its energy content. The inevitable effect of developing bioenergy will be to increase the demand for biomass in various forms. The result will be a shift in the current balance between supply and demand. The production of biofuels must not have the effect of diverting the material that is essential to the balance of the forestry industry's ecosystem, especially in secondary and tertiary processing. When projects are being analyzed, therefore, it is becoming important to establish a kind of hierarchy of uses in order to use the resources optimally and to maximize their added value to the economy.
Second, the QFIC is concerned by the increasing number and complexity of regulations on reducing GHG emissions. Mostly federal, they are now in addition to the provincial ones.
It has been calculated that the financial impact for our industry might exceed $1 billion by 2030. This financial burden may well harm our company's competitiveness on international markets if Canada acts alone.
Third, Canada is vast, as is Quebec. Access to a supply of renewable fuels in remote regions remains a challenge. It may well be difficult for companies to reduce their GHG emissions without that access to biofuels at a competitive price.
As one of the witnesses mentioned earlier, the price difference will become important. It will be the reason why biofuels are used and therefore why GHG emissions will be reduced in the long term.