The leaders of major Canadian cities have a role to play in the fight against climate change, a member of a Montreal-based environmental group argued on Saturday at the Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit.

This is partly because of their proximity to the public, Coralie Deny, director general of the Conseil régional de l’environnement de Montréal, said during a panel discussion.

Plus, these cities are “important places” for conversations between public officials and local organizations, which, Deny said through a translator, “are becoming vulnerable in the current climate.”

She spoke among three other panelists in an hour-long session titled Carbon Progress: Paris and Beyond. And while conversations about the Paris summit typically focus on climate action at the state — or, in Canada’s case, provincial — level, Deny zeroed in on municipalities and urban planning.

More specifically, she suggested we rethink how we build our cities. Investment in public transportation is crucial. When we cut traffic, we also cut greenhouse gas emissions, Denny said.

In a follow-up interview with iPolitics, Deny acknowledged the progress cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have made in developing their respective public transportation systems.

Still, “We have to do much more.”

For example, cities need to create incentives for industry to “go green.” They should also address waste management and the consumption of goods.

“I think that we have to change everything all around us,” she said.

As for the Paris summit, Deny said she thinks it will be an opportunity for Canada to learn about what cities in other countries are doing.

At home in Canada, on the other hand, major cities need to show greater leadership — even among the other levels of government — in order to encourage others to take action, she said.

Panelist Sidney Ribeaux took a similar stance in a conversation with iPolitics.

“Cities in Canada have a lot of power on environmental issues,” Ribeaux, executive director of Equiterre, said.

Consider their ability to make decisions on “transportation issues.”

“Do we build neighbourhoods that are friendly for public transit, for walking, for bicycling? Or do you build cities that sprawl and that, basically, leave no choice to people who are buying houses there to have one, two or three cars to get around?”

However, “All cities across Canada rely on provincial and sometimes federal subsidies to run their public transit systems,” Ribeaux said.

Accordingly, he said, if cities increase the capacity of their public transportation systems, they will require more subsidies.

Otherwise, “They have a whole bunch of both regulatory and fiscal powers to try to have an impact on emissions.”

Not to mention, “progressive environmental citizens” typically live in urban centres.

“There’s a lot of political support for these types of measures within cities.”