Montréal unveils an ambitious plan to reach its climate goals

MONTRÉAL, Dec. 10, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Ville de Montréal is pleased to unveil its Climate Plan 2020-2030 today. Consisting of 46 firm actions, the plan will allow Montréal to achieve the ambitious climate targets it has set for itself in the area of ecological transition, i.e., a reduction of 55 per cent of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the community between now and 2030 (compared with 1990), as well as carbon neutrality for its operations between now and 2040 and for the community in 2050. The Climate Plan is also aimed at increasing the resilience of the Montréal community, especially by focusing on the mobilization of civil society, sustainable mobility and electrification of transportation, the energy efficiency of buildings, and greening. It will ultimately guide the city's investments and decisions toward adapting to climate change.

"Before the health crisis hit, the climate crisis was at the heart of our concerns. In September 2019, Montréal witnessed a historic march that brought together 500,000 people demanding concrete action to fight climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic turned everything upside down. But the year 2020 also highlighted the importance of having a resilient city on a human scale. A city that offers quality green spaces to its population. The Climate Plan we are presenting will enable Montréal to improve the quality of life of its population in the short, medium and long term through a recovery that we hope will be green and inclusive. Our plan will also enable Montréal to meet its commitments and maintain its leadership role in the fight against climate change," declared Valérie Plante, mayor of Montréal.

"Montrealers have made it clear to us that they are ready to act for the future of our planet. Therefore, together with the population, community organizations, merchants, businesses and city staff members, we have designed a Climate Plan that meets our collective aspirations. The plan's actions are organized around five major sectors and will have a particularly significant impact on mobilization, reduction of GHG emissions and adaptation to climate change. Like other major cities around the world, Montréal is at the forefront of combatting climate change. The time has come to act and the Climate Plan we are presenting gives us the means to reach our ambitious targets," added Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, executive committee member in charge of ecological transition, resilience, Space for life and urban agriculture.

The Climate Plan 2020-2030 consists of 46 actions, 16 of which are key actions, grouped into five areas of intervention targeting the mobilization of the Montréal community, urban planning and development, buildings, the exemplarity of the city, and governance. Among the actions that will have the greatest impact are:

●  Planting, maintaining, and protecting 500,000 trees, in priority areas susceptible to heat waves;

●  Encouraging sustainable mobility in neighbourhoods and future urban developments, such as the Hippodrome site;

●  Favouring and increasing the percentage of electric vehicles in the city centre;

●  Encouraging greening and stimulating the densification of the city by converting to open-air parking;

●  Adapting by-laws and supporting programs to increase the energy efficiency and resilience of all types of buildings;

●  Improving the energy performance of large buildings through a system of rating and disclosure of their energy consumption and GHG emissions;

●  Transforming 100 per cent of municipal building stock operations to zero carbon;

●  Imposing a climate test on all the city's decisions to limit their GHG emission impact and maximize their adaptation to climate change;

●  Dedicating funding for adapting to climate change, from 10 to 15 per cent of the budget of Ville de Montréal's Ten-year Capital Expenditure Program.

To monitor the evolution of the plan and the achievement of its targets, the city will publish an annual report on the progress made on each of the various actions that it contains.

Mobilizing for the climate

Ville de Montréal has set ambitious objectives, and to achieve them will require the mobilization of the entire community. The Climate Plan is the result of working sessions and sustained collaboration with various administrative units, civil society stakeholders and experts from various fields. In addition, the various public consultations held by the OCPM served as inspiration for the Climate Plan and will influence its implementation, especially the consultation on neighbourhood planning. In 2019, as part of the consultation process titled Rêvons Montréal, Montréal residents and city staff commented on the city's main values and priority actions. Their responses guided Ville de Montréal's strategic alignment  and contributed to the development of the Climate Plan.

Lastly, the Climate Plan's advisory committee was formed as a result of the two-year agreement reached in 2018 with the C40 Climate Leadership Group, the Fondation familiale Trottier and the David Suzuki Foundation, to develop a climate plan for Montréal aimed at achieving carbon neutrality targets established in the One Planet Charter, a roadmap defined by the C40, to which Montréal was a signatory. In 2019, this collaboration was expanded to include six new partners: the CIUSSS Centre-sud-de-l'île-de-Montréal, Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation, J.W McConnell Family Foundation, Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec, Echo foundation and Space for Life Foundation. The work of the committee, which is made up of 19 members from various fields, took place from June 2019 to March 2020.

"For more than a year, the members of the city of Montréal's climate advisory committee have been committed to advancing the city's thinking on climate issues and carbon neutrality. This example of sustained collaboration is illustrated by the plan presented today. It is important for us to maintain this collaboration to support the fight against climate change and our city's transition," mentioned Kim Thomassin, Executive Vice-President, Legal Affairs and Secretariat, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

"This plan has benefited from an unprecedented mobilization of Montréal's philanthropic leaders in the face of the climate crisis, as several Montréal foundations have joined forces to fund scientific expertise and bring together business and civil society actors to give Montréal an ambitious plan that addresses the climate emergency. Achieving our climate objectives will now require mobilization on all fronts, which is why the Trottier Family Foundation and the Foundation of Greater Montréal initiated the creation of a climate change partnership with the city, which will bring together major economic and institutional players to place the fight against climate change at the heart of Montréal's recovery," Karel Mayrand, President and CEO, Foundation of Greater Montréal.

"As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Paris Accord in two days' time, Montréal is responding with a Climate Plan made by and for Montrealers. This plan responds to the concerns and the urgency to act through concrete actions. The work that we must begin together is essential and will allow us to ensure a healthier future for our children and their children's children. I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank our partners, the members of the advisory committee and all those who contributed to the development of the Climate Plan, always keeping in mind the public's interest and the role that the city can play in the ecological transition," concluded mayor Plante.

The Climate Plan can be consulted online on Ville de Montréal's website (in French).

SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Cabinet de la mairesse et du comité exécutif

Source: Geneviève Jutras, Attachée de presse principale, Cabinet de la mairesse et du comité exécutif, 514 243-1268; Information: Relations médias, Ville de Montréal, [email protected]