The European Commission and the European Committee
of the Regions (CoR) committed to a new phase of
cooperation to accelerate the delivery of the Green
Deal in Europe's regions and cities. During a
debate with Frans Timmermans, the European
Commission's Executive Vice-President for the
European Green Deal called on local and regional
governments to take ownership and shape the Green
Deal in areas falling under their competencies. The
CoR's members welcomed the cooperation, backing the
Green Deal as the EU's main means to ensure a green
and inclusive economic recovery in all regions,
cities and villages.
The new cooperation aims to give local and regional
governments the support and knowledge they need to
apply more effectively for national recovery and EU
funds to make the Green Deal real in every community,
specifically in improving the energy efficiency of
buildings, developing sustainable transport and
protecting natural habitats. The two institutions will
work together to empower and mobilise local and
regional governments in Europe whilst working with
national governments to place the Green Deal at the
heart of their national investment plans.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas
, President of the European Committee of the Regions
and governor of the Central Region of Macedonia in
Greece, said: “
We will not let the pandemic hinder our commitment
to protecting our environment. We need a green,
just and resilient recovery for all regions and
cities, urban and rural, rich and poor. We must act
together now, accelerating the green transition by
delivering concrete projects locally. Our new
cooperation with the European Commission is a
turning point in our partnership. It will empower,
support and mobilise local and regional governments
to deliver the Green Deal on our streets and to
deliver on our promises to our citizens and our
children."
Speaking during the plenary, Frans Timmermans, Executive
Vice-President of the European Commission and
Commissioner for the European Green Deal, said:
"Climate action starts in the streets of our towns
and neighbourhoods. The European Commission and
European Committee of the Regions will work
together on the Renovation Wave, clean transport
and green cities. The Committee should get a seat
on the Covenant of Mayors Political Board and be a
key part of our Climate Pact to be launched this
year, where its members will become Climate
Ambassadors. Let us start the work on climate
action in our regions that can inspire the rest of
the world."
The CoR recently launched the
Green Deal Going Local
working group to ensure that the EU's sustainable
growth strategy and the COVID-19 recovery plans
translate into direct funding for cities and regions.
A
compilation of 200 best practices
from CoR members was handed to Vice-President Frans Timmermans, showing how cities
and regions are already delivering the transition on
the ground through concrete projects related to energy
efficiency, low-emission transport, sustainable food
management and green infrastructure.
T
he debate on the Green Deal took place during the
CoR's 140th plenary session and the
European Week of Regions and Cities
,
which saw the presentation of the first
Annual Regional and Local Barometer
along with
debates with President Ursula Von der Leyen
and Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Assembly discussed a series of proposals on key
Green Deal topics
:
- Climate Pact:
The Mayor of Warsaw,
Rafał Trzaskowski
(PL/EPP) presented his opinion on
The European Climate Pact
. Mayor
Trzaskowski
declared: "
We are fully committed to the Green Deal. We want
to implement ambitious and realistic targets to
serve our communities and create new jobs. The
Climate Pact should be based on two pillars. First,
a strong cooperation between local and regional
authorities and EU institutions on concrete
projects like buildings' renovation. Secondly, the
Climate Pact should be an umbrella for local
climate partnerships across the EU to learn from
each other.
As Mayor of Warsaw, I know the extent to which our
budgets have been reduced due to the pandemic. It
is therefore crucial that we have direct access to
EU funds to implement sustainable policies."
- Sustainable cities:
Juan Espadas
(ES/PES)
, Mayor of Seville, Chair of the CoR's ENVE commission
and Green Deal Going Local working group, presented his
opinion on
The renewal of the Leipzig Charter on
Sustainable European Cities
. Mayor Espadas said: "
As much as 68% of the world population will live in
urban areas by 2050, so cities can and must be the
drivers for building a sustainable future. We call
on the German EU presidency to make the renewed
Leipzig Charter binding at European level so it can
become, together with the European Green Deal, the
Sustainable Development Goals and a stronger Urban
Agenda, our cities’ main roadmap to creating
well-being for all
."
- Biodiversity:
Rapporteur
Roby Biwer
(LU/PES), Member of the Bettembourg Municipal Council,
presented the CoR's opinion on
Bio-diverse cities and regions beyond 2020 at
the UN CBD COP 15 and in the next EU strategy
. Rapporteur Biwer said: "
We are sending a wake-up call to bend the curve in
the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems. We need
all levels of government to support this effort and
make it a key pillar of our recovery. The European
Green Deal can be our main tool to build a
sustainable future to protect our planet, stop the
climate crisis and prevent future disease
outbreaks. It is time to act. Now!"
- Circular economy:
Rapporteur
Tjisse Stelpstra
(NL/ECR), Regional Minister of the Province of Drenthe,
presented the CoR's opinion on the
New Circular Economy Action Plan
(CEAP). Rapporteur Stelpstra said:
“COVID-19 has shown us our own dependency and
vulnerability. Therefore, it is a wake-up call for
everyone to advance toward sustainability. The new
CEAP is directly related to the reduction of CO2
that we need desperately. Concrete goals are
necessary and new standards must be achieved
through innovation. When we can do better, we must
do better!”
Additional information
Vice-President Timmermans last addressed the EU's
assembly of cities and regions in
December 2019
when the CoR adopted a
resolution on the Green Deal
. A key CoR recommendation was to raise the 2030 target
for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to
at least 55%, today endorsed by the European
Commission.
Green Deal Going Local (GDGL)
is a new initiative of the European Committee of the
Regions that aims at placing cities and regions at the
core of the European Green Deal and ensuring that both
the EU's sustainable growth strategy and the COVID-19
recovery plans translate into direct funding for cities
and regions and tangible projects for every territory.
'Green Deal Going Local' was launched on 15 June 2020
with the creation of a specific Working Group
composed of 13 members
.
Read the press release here.
You can discover CoR's first 200 Green Deal
best practices in our online map.
The Annual Regional and Local Barometer
(#EURegionalBarometer) has informed a resolution "Local
and regional authorities facing COVID-19 and building
the recovery" that the 329 members of the CoR will
adopt on 13 October (
draft available here
). The opening speech of President Tzitzikostas is
available on the
page
of the President of the European Committee of the
Regions.
Findings of the Annual Regional and Local Barometer
(
read our press release here
)
Contact:
David Crous //
david.crous@cor.europa.eu
// +32 (0) 470 88 10 37