COP15: Montreal mayor calls on cities to take 'Montreal Pledge' to protect biodiversity at local level

Cities took centre stage at COP15 Sunday as Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante challenged local leaders around the world to protect biodiversity at the local level.

"People are ready, but we need to lead the way. We need to sometimes make difficult decisions, but it is our role," Plante told the conference, encouraging mayors to take the “Montreal Pledge.”

The pledge includes 15 actions to “reduce threats” and “share the benefits” of biodiversity. They include moves to eliminate plastic waste, reduce pesticide use, increase green space, and to prioritize “nature based” protection against extreme weather.

Pledge number 15 calls on cities to integrate Indigenous voices into decision-making processes, something advocates have repeatedly called for since the conference began.

• For a look at all 15 clauses of the Montreal Pledge, click here
• READ MORE: Indigenous leaders calling for more involvement in conservation plans

"I think our strongest allies are these subnational governments," said Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Chief Ghislain Picard, referring to mayors and city councillors.

“With all due respect, the subnational governments are closer to the people than the provincial or national governments, so they hear it from the people on the street,” he added.

SUZUKI: 'WHAT WE DO TO NATURE, WE DO DIRECTLY TO OURSELVES'

Thousands of people took to the streets again Saturday to demand action from lawmakers on climate change. Among them was Mayor Plante, as well as environmentalist David Suzuki.

Suzuki believes people are starting to pay closer attention to how their leaders are responding to the changing climate, but that change isn't coming fast enough.

“This is just suicidal,” he said. “We have a mentality that makes us an invasive species everywhere, and we're destroying the underpinnings of life itself.”

“We have an extinction rate now that is a thousand ... ten thousand times greater than the natural rate of extinction ... and we think that, somehow, that this isn't connected to us.”

Speaking at the conference, Suzuki also called on cities to do more to harmonize with nature.

"Cities, I think, are the place where we need to be much, much less impactful on the air the water, the soil, because the way we live is simply not in balance," he said.

"We are part of nature, and what we do to nature, we do directly to ourselves."