The 26e United Nations climate conference is drawing to a close. One hundred and ninety-five countries, thousands of scientists, companies and delegates from all over the world have joined forces to accelerate the transition and try to limit global warming.
Meanwhile, across our metropolis, it is clear that a culture of climate action is taking hold within the business community, elected officials and civil society. Like metropolises around the world, New York, Paris, London or Oslo, which, like us, are members of the Cities Climate Leadership (C40) and who have accelerated the pace, Montreal is shaping a future with a low carbon footprint.
We are members of the Montreal Climate Partnership1, an unprecedented grouping of nearly a hundred economic, philanthropic, institutional and environmental players in Montreal. Our common goal is as simple as it is ambitious: to accelerate the decarbonization of Montreal and strengthen its climate resilience within the deadlines demanded by climate science. Through the commitment campaign “Big gestures: to accelerate Montreal’s climate transition”, we are today launching a call for the mobilization of our organizations and the entire Montreal community to make Montreal a resilient city. and low in carbon.
We encourage all the organizations in the metropolis to integrate structuring actions if they have not already done so, to improve their climate plan and to shorten the deadlines for the actions already planned.
Because we have a range of influence that goes beyond our employees, our customers and our business partners, it is we, the organizations, who will help strengthen climate leadership in Montreal and, by the same token, strengthen our positioning in this regard. We are convinced that this collective commitment will be at the heart of the city’s economic, social and environmental development from now on and for the next generation.
The sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the physical aspects of climate change, released last August, highlighted the indispensable contribution of our organizations, large and small, and all system in an attempt to minimize the effects of human activity on the planet. This report tells us, among other things, that the only scenario making it possible to limit global warming to below 1.5 ° C at the end of the century is one in which the immediate and accelerated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) would start today to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Profitable investments
What lies ahead is more than just a change in the status quo. We must revise our internal policies and our business strategies, introduce changes in behavior and strengthen the acceptability of our projects. These changes are investments that will benefit us. We not only need concrete changes to our practices and business models, but also a downward revision of the timeframe that we allow ourselves to get there. While some organizations are doing everything they can to do more, others are still hesitant. We invite them to join us in taking action. To align ourselves with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the City of Montreal’s Climate Plan – and even to ensure the sustainability of our business activities, we must do everything possible, starting today -, to reduce the City of Montreal’s GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and put the city on the path to carbon neutrality by 2050.
Admittedly, the task that awaits us is titanic, but it is necessary. Montreal has its place among the cities that will chart the course for a low-carbon and resilient future. Whether through its leadership in sustainable finance, its innovators, its university researchers, its citizen projects or its ecosystem of start-ups, it has everything to succeed. The Climate Partnership is betting that it is by combining the expertise, creativity and commitment of all that we will meet the challenge of this generation.
We do not all start from the same reality, but we can change our practices in the same direction, provided that the fight against climate change becomes a central and non-negotiable theme for our organizations: both operationally and strategically. Let’s focus on leadership to stimulate action within our organizations, and even make new commitments via the Montreal Climate Partnership’s online platform, launched this week.
1. Visit the Montreal Climate Partnership website
* Co-signers by the partner-members of the Steering Committee of the Montreal Climate Partnership: Julie boucher, Vice-President, Customer Experience, Communications and Community Relations, Hydro-Québec; Marie-Claude Bourgie, Executive Director, Greater Montreal Climate Fund; Janie C. Béïque, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fonds de solidarité FTQ; Graham carr, President and Vice-Chancellor, Concordia University; Danielle Charest, President and CEO, Jalon; Genevieve Morin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fondaction; Deborah Cherenfant, President, Young Chamber of Commerce of Montreal; Leïla Copti, president, Copticom; Daniel Dagenais, vice-president of operations, Port of Montreal; Guy Cormier, President and Chief Executive Officer, Desjardins Group; Magda Fusaro, rector, University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM); Sarah houde, President and CEO, Propulsion Québec; Anne-Marie Hubert, Managing Partner for Eastern Canada, EY; Sabaa Khan, Executive Director, Quebec and the Atlantic, David Suzuki Foundation; Michel leblanc, President and CEO, Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM); Emmanuel Rondia, general manager, CRE-Montreal; Christian Savard, Managing Director, Vivre en Ville; Eric St-Pierre, Managing Director, Trottier Family Foundation; Caroline Tessier, Executive Director, Association of Business Development Societies (SDC) of Montreal; Kim thomassin, Senior Vice-President and Head of Investments in Quebec and Sustainable Investments, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec; Stephanie Trudeau, executive vice-president Quebec, Énergir; Natalie Voland, Founder and President, Quo Vadis Real Estate Management
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