Faktablad om udtalelsen 

To prepare the CoR participation in the follow-up to the Copenhagen COP 15 and the next COPs under the aegis of the UNFCCC.

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS



- points out that European efforts to combat climate change at national, regional and local government levels can serve as an example of a coherent approach and also as a model for countries outside Europe. Transparent structures embracing all sectoral policies and an effective financial infrastructure accessible to local and regional authorities are important prerequisites;

- firmly supports the initiative of the Covenant of Mayors to reduce carbon emissions in over 2150 European towns and cities by more than 20% by the year 2020, and expects that the necessary resources will be provided to ensure that the objectives announced are actually achieved;

- argues that a constructive way of engaging between local and national levels on climate adaptation measures is via outcome-type agreements whereby each governance level can voluntarily commit to work towards a climate mitigation outcome and jointly take ownership and responsibility for their respective contributions;

- points to the growing importance of sectoral or cross-sectoral energy and climate "alliances" between regions and companies, which were already involved in the Copenhagen negotiating process. These alliances should be explicitly encouraged with a view to further developing and applying low-carbon technologies as soon as possible. The main players here are local- and regional-level decision-makers, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs);

- reiterates that more funding is needed, especially at local and regional level, to implement climate protection and adaptation measures.