The European Committee of the Regions has launched the 'Green Deal Going Local' working group.Composed of 13 local and regional elected representatives, its objective is to guarantee that EU cities and regions are directly involved in the definition, implementation and assessment of the numerous initiatives under the European Green Deal, the EU's sustainable growth strategy to reach climate-neutrality by 2050.

COP25 did not reach an agreement on the rules for the full implementation of the Paris agreement. Regional indicators within the Paris rulebook and the call for multilevel collaboration did not make it to the final decision either. Nevertheless, Madrid demonstrated that cities and regions worldwide are firmly committed to higher climate ambition and action. The delegation of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) strongly defended the pivotal role cities and regions play in tackling global warming and the need to formalise their role in global climate governance. Glasgow is to host COP26 in December 2020 with expectations focusing on higher climate commitments and multilevel action. Click here to access the CoR's COP25 photo album.

The European Commission released its communication and timeline for the European Green Deal. Upgrading energy and climate targets along with new strategies and legislation for climate adaptation, air quality and biodiversity protection are amongst the measures ahead. While COP25 negotiations block on international carbon market rules, the EU's assembly of local and regional representatives calls on the Parties of the Paris agreement to foster cooperation with cities and regional governments as the only way to deliver effective climate action and reverse global warming.

The successful European Entrepreneurial Region (EER) scheme, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, has been modernised and renewed for upcoming five years. Each of the annual calls for applications between 2021 and 2025 will have a lead theme, which is linked with the EU policy agenda and relevant to regional and local level. The EER 2021 label will be dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship for a green and sustainable future and will be open for applications from EU regions and cities until 31 March 2020.