Climate Adaptation Laws in Quebec: Normative Lifecycle of Public Infrastructure Projects in the Light of Participative Democracy and Collaborative Governance

Law contributes to climate change adaption in the infrastructure sector by reducing exposure to climate hazards, increasing the adaptive capacity of individuals, households and communities, and creating incentives for climate-adaptive behavior (Berrang-Ford et al., Clim Change 124:441–450, 2014). The present paper concerns the normative lifecycle of public infrastructure projects by focusing on Quebec’s legal framework and aims to answer the following research question: «How do laws, regulations and other normative sources interact and contribute to climate change adaptation in the infrastructure sector?». From forbidding construction, through the obtention of authorizations and public tendering, to demolition and reuse of materials regulations, this paper focuses on the diversity of sources of law, people and organizations with the power to influence the adaptation of infrastructure projects to climate change. Law notably finds its sources in participatory democracy and also emerges from collaborative governance between private and public. But classic hierarchical power structures also punctuate Quebec’s normative framework, such as large discretionary powers vested to ministers. This paper aims to offer a conceptual framework illustrating the fragmentation of Quebec’s legal framework and the difficulty of implementing coherent and cohesive action, while also offering a roadmap for practitioners from the private and public sector interested and willing to address climate change adaptation in infrastructure projects.