Montreal Climate Summit: divesting from fossil fuels and planting trees

The Caisse Commune des régimes de retraite des employés municipaux de Montréal says it plans to withdraw its investments from fossil fuels and plant at least 200,000 trees in the city's east end.

The announcement was made Tuesday at the Montreal Climate Summit, taking place at the Grand Quay of the Port of Montreal.

Environment Ministers Steven Guilbeault and Benoit Charette, as well as Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, are taking part in the two-day event.

More than 900 people from the business, philanthropic, labour, political, environmental and civil society communities are also expected to attend the summit, which is in its third year.

Divesting from fossil fuels

Plante also announced that Montreal would be working with the Caisse Commune to repatriate almost all of its $10 billion investments.

Currently, only 23 per cent of these assets are managed locally, according to the city.

This collaboration aims to divest from fossil fuels and "benefit Montreal's entire financial ecosystem," according to the Plante administration.

"This commitment is a concrete first step and sends a strong signal to other cities, governments and public pension funds to strengthen the green economy," said Plante.

The C40, which brings together major cities worldwide for an ecological transition, welcomed the initiative.

"Montreal joins other pioneering C40 cities that are using every tool at their disposal to ensure that funding goes to the green economy and away from industries that pollute our planet and harm our communities," said Executive Director Mark Watt.

Plante is vice president of the C40 network.

Planting 200,000 trees

Together, the governments also announced plans to plant 230,000 trees and 57,000 shrubs in the city's east end.

According to a federal government press release, the project will "strengthen existing natural infrastructures in this area and provide access to natural environments."

The federal government is slated to "contribute up to a maximum of $27,710,192 to this project under the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF)," and the City of Montreal's contribution "could amount to $40,000,000, or 60 per cent of the total value of the project."

According to the federal government, these types of investments "will have significant economic benefits down the road" as "every dollar invested in climate-related adaptation and disaster preparedness can yield between $13 and $15 in benefits."

The aim of the summit is "to identify solutions, measure collective progress and share lessons learned and pitfalls with a view to accelerating Montreal's climate transition."

The Montreal Climate Summit is organized by the Montreal Climate Partnership (MCP) in collaboration with the City of Montreal and other partners.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 7, 2024.