On the road to COP 15 – Montreal joins forces with Transition en Commun, a citizens’ alliance for the ecological transition
MONTRÉAL, November 15th 2022 – Montréal est fière de s’associer à Transition en Commun, une alliance entre la Ville, la population et des organisations de la société civile. The co-construction approach of this partnership aims to implement an ambitious vision of the socio-ecological transition that is anchored in the neighbourhoods. The first official meeting of the Steering Committee, co-chaired by Dominique Ollivier, President of the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal, Marie-Andrée Mauger, responsible for the ecological transition and the environment on the Executive Committee, and Bertrand Fouss, co-founder of Solon Collectif.s, took place today at Montreal City Hall.
Transition en Commun emerges from a strong mobilization of civil society. This alliance directly supports the City’s objectives as part of the 2020-2030 Climate Plan to ensure the territory’s adaptation to climate change and carbon neutrality by 2050. This partnership also meets an important objective for mobilization in the context of the next COP 15, which will take place in December in Montreal. This citizen initiative emanates, in particular, from the Citizen Projects working group of the Montreal Climate Partnership, supported by the City of Montreal, to mobilize key civil society players in achieving the objectives of its 2020-2030 Climate Plan.
The approach has gradually established itself as an essential complementary solution to catalyze the citizen forces present and increase their impact. Based on the common vision developed at the first official meeting of the steering committee, it will work to define and implement a common action plan to transform the living environments of Montreal’s neighbourhoods.
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“The climate emergency is one of the greatest challenges facing our society. It also represents an opportunity to review the way we live and build our city to make it more resilient, inclusive, prosperous and livable. The City of Montreal’s participation in Transition en Commun demonstrates our desire to examine and, if necessary, transform our practices, in order to maximize the impact of citizen participation on the ecological transition. I am proud of this cutting-edge approach, which brings citizens together in the fight against climate change and the deployment of solutions. Emerging from the Montreal Climate Partnership, it is also in line with the objectives of COP 15, which will be held in Montreal in December and which aims in particular to involve local communities in the protection of biodiversity and the socio-ecological transition,” said the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante.
“The ecological transition is at the heart of every action we take at the City of Montréal. However, for this priority to be transformed into a real social project, a much larger, more diversified and effective participation of the city’s citizens and organizations is necessary, at the neighbourhood level. This social innovation project will create social capital between citizens and civil society by increasing the autonomy of local communities and increasing opportunities for networking and accelerating the scaling up of solutions,” explained Marie-Andrée Mauger, responsible for the environment and ecological transition on the City of Montréal’s Executive Committee.
“To achieve our objectives of socio-ecological transition, we must make it a social project. To do this, we need to build alliances and review our ways of doing things here in Montreal. This is what Transition en Commun proposes: to work together, whether it is citizen groups, the community, culture, research, public health or the social economy, in all neighbourhoods, to build new narratives and ambitious and mobilizing solutions with their residents. The City’s commitment to this approach, at the highest level, allows us to consolidate our ambitions and consider a series of new avenues,” added Bertrand Fouss, co-president of the steering committee and co-founder of Solon Collectif.
“The partners of Transition en Commun are mobilized around the same vision, that of a socio-ecological transition that takes into account social inequalities. By working at the neighbourhood level, TeC wants to ensure that actions in favour of the environment are consistent with the needs and realities of the different populations, especially the most vulnerable. The approach will be based on structures for consultation and collective action that are well rooted in their community, namely the Neighbourhood Roundtables. Building together a city that is both greener and more inclusive is a challenge that requires a real commitment from our institutions and exemplary collaboration with communities,” said Joakim Lemieux, head of community life at the CMTQ.
“Since its creation, the Montreal Climate Partnership (MCP) has recognized the essential and distinctive role of citizens and the social and community fabric of Montreal in addressing the climate challenges we are already experiencing, and which will increase in the coming years. I am delighted that the leadership and cooperation of the organizations and citizen groups involved in the PCM have led to a mobilization vehicle as solid and unifying as Transition en Commun, which is anchored in Montreal neighbourhoods. This approach will be completely complementary to the other mobilization activities of the Montreal Climate Partnership, which are aimed more particularly at the economic, institutional and philanthropic communities. We believe in the strength of the collective, we live it, and we will be pleased to support and contribute to Transition en Commun to collectively achieve the City of Montreal’s climate targets,” said Mélanie Le Berre, Executive Director of the Montreal Climate Partnership.
“We are experiencing multiple contemporary crises – the COVID-19 pandemic, global warming, housing shortages, homelessness, the overdose epidemic, social isolation – on top of historical injustices and inequities. The socio-ecological transition involves transforming the way we work together, engaging with a diversity of knowledge and expertise, and developing visions of the future that bring people together and generate health and well-being for the entire population,” concluded Dr. Mylène Drouin, Regional Director of Public Health for the Montreal region.
SOURCE Ville de Montréal – Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee
Source: Marikym Gaudreault, Press Secretary of the Executive Committee, Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee of Montréal, 514-925-0884, marikym.gaudreault@montreal.ca – Media Relations, City of Montreal, relationsmedias@montreal.ca