Fighting climate change - Mayor of Montreal in a short visit to Washington for the Climate Action 2016 Conference

MONTRÉAL, May 5, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Montréal Mayor and president of Metropolis, the world association of major cities, the Honourable Denis Coderre, is in Washington, D.C. today for the Climate Action 2016 conference, in which he will participate in two important panels. One will address the challenges and roadblocks faced by cities and the solutions put in place to cope with them to encourage mobilization, organized by Bloomberg and the Compact of Mayors, and the other will touch on sustainable mobility, organized by the World Bank.

"Climate change has a direct impact on our citizens' quality of life, and Montréal, like all the world's large cities, must adapt to this reality. Cities are the leaders in local environmental initiatives to counter greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Today this is widely recognized. We saw it during the Paris Conference, and on April 22nd in New York, when representatives of 171 countries came to sign the Paris Agreement," declared the Mayor of Montréal.

Climate Action 2016
The Climate Action 2016 summit takes place two weeks after the Paris Agreement signature ceremony and eight months after the Declaration of the Climate Summit for Local Elected Officials. It will serve as a reminder that cities, as the local governments, are at the heart of the changes.

The summit is an opportunity to deepen and broaden coalitions of governments, businesses, philanthropists, civilian society and senior university representatives.

Mayor Coderre will participate more specifically on the City and Sub-National Implementation - Age of the Local Leader: Unlocking the Power of Mayors to Solve Climate Change panel and on the Transforming the World's Mobility - Galvanizing Action and Investments panel.

Mr. Coderre will also have the opportunity to speak with several global leaders including His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, Michael R. Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York and United Nations Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, Muriel Bower, Mayor of Washington, D.C. and many others.

Review of Montréal's actions in environment and sustainable development

The City of Montréal has already adopted some 30 metropolitan-wide policies, plans and strategies that touch in some way on reducing GHG emissions and adapting to climate change, including:

• 2010-2015 Sustainable Development Plan for the Montreal Community
• 2012-2021 Canopy Action Plan
• Montréal Emerald Ash Borer Action Plan
• The 2008-2018 Transportation Plan – Reinventing Montreal
• The Mount Royal Protection and Development Plan
• CMM Metropolitan Urban Development Plan
• Policy for the Conservation and Enhancement of Undeveloped Lands
• Montréal Sustainable Development Policy for Municipal Buildings
• Parks Amenities Improvement Program
• Montreal Water Strategy
• Greater Montreal Green and Blue Belt

Concrete results include the planting of 300,000 trees by 2025, the creation of an Office of Priority Measures for Buses and Bicycles, the BIXI system of self-service bicycles, the creation of a Green Chemistry cluster, phytoremediation projects, bylaws on wood heating appliances and plastic bags, the collection of organic waste, a growing network of electric vehicle recharging stations, and the OCPM public consultation on the reduction of dependence on fossil energies, an initiative totally supported by the City.

"All our actions, notably the adoption of the 2015-2020 Greater Montreal Plan for Adapting to Climate Change and the Plan for Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions, help to position Quebec's metropolis as a leader in the fight against, and adaptation to, climate change, both in Quebec and abroad," added Mr. Coderre.

Note that Montreal has joined the ranks of the Compact of Mayors, the largest coalition of local leaders committed to reducing and monitoring the evolution of GHG emissions and to adapting to climate change. It is also the only Canadian member city of the 100 Resilient Cities network.

SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Cabinet du maire et du comité exécutif

Source: Marc-André Gosselin, Attaché de presse, Cabinet du maire et du comité exécutif, 514 290-1194; For Information: Geneviève Dubé, Relationniste, Service des communications, 514 868-5934