Council Signs Montreal Pledge in Support of Biodiversity Action

Council has reaffirmed the City’s commitment to sustainability and biodiversity conservation efforts in Kingston by signing the Montreal Pledge – Cities United in Action for Biodiversity.

At its March 19 meeting, Council voted to authorize Mayor Bryan Paterson to sign and submit a letter of support to the City of Montreal to become a signatory of the Pledge. Delegations appeared before Council speaking to the importance of contributing to the global action.

Becoming a signatory city aligns with Council's 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, which includes a commitment to establish a strategy for protecting and enhancing biodiversity in the city. Kingston is currently engaged in a variety of programs and initiatives that reflect the values of the Montreal Pledge.

“Adding Kingston’s name to the Montreal Pledge is another way the City is taking action to safeguard biodiversity,” says Julie Salter-Keene, Manager, Climate Leadership. “Biodiversity is critical to our ecosystems and a measure of the health of the environment, and its conservation is vital to our world.”

Montreal hosted the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022, and the City invited municipalities across the world to make a commitment to protect biodiversity. The Montreal Pledge established 15 tangible actions that cities can take towards pursuing and accelerating their efforts to preserve ecosystems.

The 15 tangible actions are summarized in three broad categories: Reduce threats to biodiversity; share benefits of biodiversity; and create solutions through cross-cultural governance, management and education. More than 60 major cities from across the world have already committed to the Montreal Pledge.

Signatories to the Montreal Pledge are invited to voluntarily monitor their progress using CitiesWithNature, an international platform highlighting the commitments and initiatives undertaken to promote biodiversity protection. City staff will use the registry to track the City’s progress towards the Montreal Pledge’s 15 actions.