During the Montreal Climate Summit, the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, will announce on Wednesday $187 million in funding to “advance climate priorities in Quebec” and more than $40 million for three tree planting initiatives in the Montreal area.
Federal funding of $40 million, as part of the national “2 billion trees” program, should make it possible to plant more than 275,000 trees in the Greater Montreal area.
The first initiative, led by the Société de vertissement du Montréal métropolitain (SOVERDI) and the Urban Forest Alliance, aims to plant 200,000 trees by 2030 on private and institutional land through “thousands of projects” in courtyards. schools, hospitals and parking lots in particular.
The federal government must invest $20 million in this project, an amount equivalent to what the City of Montreal will fund. Another $20 million will be disbursed by other municipalities in the metropolitan area where the trees will be planted.
The second initiative, in collaboration with the City of Montreal, should make it possible to plant more than 64,000 trees in two years in areas of the city that are prone to heat waves.
The trees will be used to naturally cool heat islands, but also to mitigate the impacts of flooding, reduce noise pollution and increase biodiversity, in 19 districts of the city.
For this project, the Government of Canada will fund approximately $20 million, while the Government of Quebec will contribute nearly $11 million and the City of Montreal $10 million.
“We know that one of the best tools we have to fight climate change is nature. It’s also one of our best tools for building thriving, livable cities. The planting of more than a quarter of a million new trees in Montreal will contribute in every way to making the city happier and the planet healthier,” said Minister Guilbeault in a press release.
The Minister of the Environment also indicated that the financing of a third project allowed the planting of 11,000 trees in Vaudreuil-Dorion in 2022.
A criticized program
Two weeks ago, a report by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry V. DeMarco, criticized the federal government’s tree planting program.
The Liberals first promised the planting of two billion trees, for the specific purpose of capturing carbon, during the 2019 federal election campaign and then delivered a budget of $3.2 billion a year later. to succeed.
An audit of the first two years of planting indicates that it appears the government is not on track to get even 4% of the promised trees in the ground by the end of 2030. Moreover, the Canadian government is not had not signed long-term project agreements with the provinces or territories to fulfill its promises.
$187 million for climate priorities
Minister Guilbeault will also announce $187 million on Wednesday to “advance climate priorities in Quebec”.
Of this amount, nearly $60 million would be used to help low-income households in the province switch from heating oil to more affordable options to meet their energy needs.
An amount of $127 million will be invested by the federal government “to support initiatives that lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and that align with Canada’s and Quebec’s objectives in terms of carbon neutrality by 2050”.
More details will be unveiled when the Minister of the Environment speaks on the second day of the Montreal Climate Summit.
Minister Steven Guilbeault is also to announce on Monday $1.5 million in funding through the Green Municipal Fund to support 18 local initiatives in Quebec.
These initiatives are intended to increase “energy efficiency and sustainability in key areas such as housing, transport, municipal buildings and land use planning”.