Montreal mayor calls for stronger climate action on CNN in wake of Maui wildfire

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante speaks during a news conference in Montreal, Saturday, August 27, 2022, where she outlined plans to tackle gun violence in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Montreal's mayor is calling for "stronger and faster action" on climate change in the wake of a devastating wildfire in Maui that claimed at least 80 lives.

"What is happening in Hawaii is disturbing and terrible," said Valerie Plante in an interview with CNN anchor Isa Soares on Friday.

Plante drew parallels between the disaster on the Hawaiian island and Quebec's unprecedented wildfire season, which triggered evacuations and several smog warnings.

• IN PHOTOS: Quebec wildfire season 2023

On June 25, Montreal had the worst air quality of any major city on Earth.

"It was very surprising for us to be recorded as having the worst air quality in the world. It's something we never thought we would experience in Canada," she said in the interview.

Plante also spoke about the need for cities to be leaders on climate action, as nearly 70 per cent of the world's population will live in cities by 2050, according to the United Nations.

"We need to accept that climate change is going to affect us even worse if we don't act," she said.

Asked about the challenge to muster political will, Plante pointed to policies that she says also benefit the economy, referencing initiatives to pedestrianize certain streets.

"At first, for example, businesses were like, 'we're going to lose money, it's not going to be interesting,' (...) turns out they are making more money than ever, so there's less cars, more space for pedestrians, better quality of air, but also good business affairs," she said.

"We need to come up with a strategy where there's something for everybody."