In the coming days, Montreal will host a major climate conference that should allow IPCC member countries to better understand and document the risks, challenges and solutions related to climate change in urban areas.
The discussions at the Innovate4Cities conference in downtown Montreal this week will be very useful because “we want governments to have access to the best science to inform cities about what they need to do to protect people from the risks and impacts of climate change,” said Winston Chow, a representative of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) who will attend the conference, which begins Tuesday.
Winston Chow is co-leading the production of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, scheduled for release in spring 2027.
“This is a crucial report for the 195 states that make up the IPCC and this conference in Montreal will help produce the report because it brings together many of the important stakeholders who can explain what specific actions can work, what are the factors that can facilitate climate action and what are the barriers.”
In addition, the professor at the Singapore Management University explained to The Canadian Press, this conference, which is attended by mayors, researchers, entrepreneurs and municipal officials, can help “structure an important part of the work that will be in the special report on climate change and cities.”
Montreal has shown “climate leadership”
If Montreal is hosting this conference, “it is because the city has shown considerable climate leadership,” noted the IPCC representative.
“The mayor has been proactive in making commitments to reduce emissions and also in developing the sponge city concept that helps reduce flood risks,” added the researcher, noting that he had also noted that Montreal has many green spaces that help reduce the negative effects of heat waves caused by climate change.
Between 300 and 400 participants from cities around the world will be present at a hotel in downtown Montreal this week and almost as many will participate virtually.
Mayor Valérie Plante is obviously among the participants in the event which takes place from Tuesday to Thursday.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, she explained that the Innovate4Cities Conference will be an opportunity to network, strengthen ties and exchange best practices for combating and adapting to climate change.
“We have a lot to learn from colleagues elsewhere in the world, and colleagues elsewhere in the world have a lot to learn from us,” because “at the City of Montreal, we have become experts in sponge parks, in water squares” and “now, we see how this contributes to reducing the consequences of climate change,” indicated Mayor Plante.
The climate change adaptation measures contained in “the Montreal Climate Plan, which also inspires other cities in Quebec,” and the objective of reducing greenhouse gases in buildings by half before 2030, are examples of initiatives that the City’s representatives intend to share with the other participants, stressed Valérie Plante.
“Obviously, we need major agreements between states because pollution and climate change have no borders,” said the mayor, referring to the COP (Conference of the Parties) on biodiversity and climate, but, she specified, we must not neglect the importance of events that give a voice to municipal elected officials, because “cities have a great capacity for mobilization and to implement concrete actions.”
The Innovate4Cities Conference is co-organized by the Global Mayors Covenant on Climate and Energy (GMCC) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).