Fight against climate change: Mayor Bruno Marchand insists on the importance of “city diplomacy”

Fight against climate change: Mayor Bruno Marchand insists on the importance of “city diplomacy”
Fight against climate change: Mayor Bruno Marchand insists on the importance of “city diplomacy”

GENEVA | At the forefront of fighting the effects of climate change, cities have an increasingly important role to play, argued the mayor of Quebec, visiting Geneva. That said, there is no question for Bruno Marchand of increasing the municipal climate reserve beyond what is already planned.

• Also read: Quebec Tramway: an imminent announcement, believes Mayor Bruno Marchand

• Also read: According to a WHO leader: Quebec among the “precursor” cities in urban health

Around fifty mayors from around the world are invited Monday and Tuesday to the Palais des Nations in Geneva, as part of the Mayors’ Forum, to discuss the Pact for the Future. This non-binding text has just been adopted in New York by UN member states. It contains areas such as sustainable development or the transformation of global governance.

Bruno Marchand was the only Canadian mayor to receive an invitation to this forum. In his eyes, “this demonstrates the resonance that the City of Quebec has in terms of sustainable development.”

According to him, “city diplomacy has always existed, but it is gaining momentum through its strength and through the attention it generates. The states met last week in New York. There, we need to know what the cities think about it and how they are implementing the pact. It is the mayors and local elected officials who have the most direct contact with citizens.”

Larger crises

In their usual missions, municipalities must manage crises such as floods. This type of event takes more and more extreme forms.

If cities do not play their role, “it is a human catastrophe, but also an economic catastrophe,” added the mayor of Quebec. Repairing a road broken by overflows and torrential rains, we’ve always had that. But what changes is the frequency and size of these events.”

In this context, could the Marchand administration further increase its transfers to its climate reserve? “No. It’s incredible what we’ve already done,” replied Mr. Marchand.

Established almost two years ago, this reserve must total $300 million in 2028.

Buses on time in Split

During the Forum, Bruno Marchand notably met his counterpart from Split (Croatia), Ivica Puljak, with whom we obviously get on well.

The tall, friendly guy told the Journal how his city is trying to convince its citizens to abandon the car and adopt buses. To achieve this, parking prices were gradually increased.

“Despite this, people didn’t want to take the bus because it was often not on time. These delays were caused by drivers wasting a lot of time selling tickets. We have increased the price of tickets when they are purchased inside the buses and we have reduced them for tickets purchased outside. It solved the problem of punctuality,” he described under the amused gaze of Mayor Marchand.

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