Montréal unveils an ambitious plan to reach its climate goals

MONTRÉAL, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.

"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.

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.

For further details, visit montreal.ca