London Mayor and C40 Chair Sadiq Khan and Montréal Mayor and C40 Vice Chair Valérie Plante meet in London to discuss city collaboration on climate and other issues

During a roundtable, the mayors launched a report on “urban rewilding” authored by C40 and Arup

Restoring natural habitat in our cities can help to reduce impacts of climate change and improve the mental health and well-being of city dwellers

Transformational change in urban areas is needed to reverse biodiversity loss and tackle climate change. That is the message Mayors Sadiq Khan of London and Valérie Plante of Montréal are sending to urban leaders around the world today as they unveil new research on “urban rewilding” by C40 and Arup.

Mayors Khan and Plante will convene a roundtable of experts in London later today to explore opportunities to bring back nature in our cities, a priority for both mayors as well as mayors across the global network of C40 cities, and for Khan in his role as C40 chair.

Mayor Khan created the London Rewilding Taskforce to explore opportunities to restore natural habitat within the city. As C40 chair, he inspires cities around the world to take action. Mayor Plante led the historic Montréal Pledge on Cities United in Action for Biodiversity at the most recent United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in December. Through this initiative and C40’s Urban Nature Accelerator, cities are aiming high and exchanging best practices with one another as they grapple with increasing ecological degradation. Restoring urban nature can help to mitigate the worsening effects of climate change with rising temperatures and more extreme weather. 

Mayor Khan said: “In London we are taking bold action to ensure that we halt the decline of biodiversity in our natural environment. Since being elected, I have invested almost £30 million in green space and tree planting projects, and City Hall’s world-leading Rewild London Fund is helping to restore the capital’s precious wildlife sites, improve biodiversity and ensure all Londoners have a thriving web of nature on their doorstep. After a 400-year hiatus, we’ve even welcomed beavers back to our city! And …