Mayor Valérie Plante Just Made A Huge Promise To The UN & Montrealers Are Loving It

• Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is the only municipal leader speaking at the UN Climate Action Summit, where she vowed to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030.
• On social media, Montrealers are praising the mayor for the announcement.
• Plante will also be marching with activist Greta Thunberg in the student climate strike on September 27.
• Visit MTLBlog for more headlines.

Mayor Valérie Plante addressed the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City today, speaking on behalf of the panel on Plans for a Carbon Neutral world. Plante said that Montreal is well on its way to meeting its promise to reduce emissions by 45% in the city. She also says that Montreal will pledge to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030. 

Mayor Plante told the United Nations that "by 2050, more than two-thirds of the world population will live in urban areas." Montreal, she says, is committed to meeting its promise and will go even further. By 2050, the city plans to have reduced emissions by almost 80%. 

As the ambassador to biodiversity for the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, Mayor Plante addressed a delegation of world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. 

According to TVA Nouvelles, Montreal already reduced carbon emissions by 25% between 1990 and 2013. For Mayor Plante, Montreal needs to do more and she has promised an ambition and wide-ranging plan to reduce emissions in the city by 55% by 2030. 

Montrealers are praising Mayor Plante on her initiative and commitments to ensuring a carbon-neutral and environmentally secure future in their city. 

According to Mayor Plante, cities are on the front lines in the fight against climate change.

Addressing the UN, our mayor said that cities play an integral role and must do all they can to help meet their goals of reducing carbon emissions by 45% across the globe by 2030. 

She also says that many cities, especially Montreal, are focusing their efforts to offer more public transportation along with retrofitting and constructing carbon-neutral buildings. 

Mayor Plante says that cities are ready and committed in their efforts to fight against climate change. 

Translation: I announced that Montreal would not proceed with a project that would've added 10,000 cars on roads. Rather than destroying wetlands, we'll be creating the largest urban park in Canada, 8x larger than Central Park.

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On social media, the response to Plante's announcement has been overwhelmingly positive.

Translation: Bravo Valérie Plante, very good speech!

Translation: A really beautiful speech! and in French <3 A speech that is based on urbanism <3

Translation: EXCELLENT!!! Valérie Plante announced at the UN Summit on the climate emergency that she was aiming for a GHG reduction of 55% by 2030 and is even "ready to go further" !!! BRAVO Montreal!

Of course, there were some critics:

Partial translation:How did she go to New York? By bike?

Mayor Plante's announcement comes only a few days before Montreal's Climate Strike on September 27.

The city will host international climate activist Greta Thunberg, who also addressed the UN on Monday with some remarkable words. 

In fact, Montreal keeps making climate headlines these days as McGill student and climate activist Emma Lim has pledged to not have children until world leaders to something about climate change.  

So far, more than 3,200 people have signed the pledge.

Do you think that the city of Montreal will meet its climate goals by 2030?