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Towards COP25 and European Green Deal: EU cities and regions are on board  
Press release 22/11/2019 | Environment policy
​​​The European Committee of the Regions is looking forward to the COP25 climate summit in Madrid as an opportunity to formally acknowledge the key role of the EU’s cities and regions in strategic climate governance and ensure their adequate engagement in reducing greenhouse emissions. First Vice-President Markku Markkula will lead the CoR delegation in Madrid along with the ENVE Commission chairs Cor Lamers (EPP/NL) and Jean-Noël Verfaillie (RE/FR). Members of the CoR's Commission for Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE) also outlined that the local and regional level is key to the success of the European Green Deal.

In a high-level debate with MEP Marie Toussaint (FR, Greens/EFA), Janez Potočnik, co-chair of United Nations' International Resource Panel, and Diederik Samsom, new Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Frans Timmermans, ENVE members exchanged views on how the European Green Deal proposed by the European Commission's president-elect Ursula von der Leyen should be implemented in partnership with local and regional authorities. The CoR will adopt a resolution on the European Green Deal in its next plenary session on 4-5 December. It has also invited a delegation of young elected politicians from across EU to Brussels to learn and exchange views on how to accelerate climate action locally.

"We very much welcome the European Green Deal, which for the first time puts sustainability at the heart of all EU policies. The Deal must follow a place-based approach to ensure that the challenges faced by our cities and regions are addressed with the right tools, resources and funding. Given our competences and our closeness to the citizens, we are committed to shaping the policies under the Green Deal and to delivering these on the ground for the benefit of our planet and our people", ENVE chair Cor Lamers stated.

The COP25 summit, which has been moved from Santiago de Chile to Madrid, will take place between 2 and 13 December 2019. The CoR will be represented in Madrid by First Vice-PresidentMarkku Markkula (EPP/FI), ENVE chair Cor Lamers (EPP/NL; Mayor of Schiedam), ENVE vice-chair Jean-Noël Verfaillie (RE/FR; Member of the Nord Departmental Council), Benedetta Brighenti (PES/IT; Member of Castelnuovo Rangone Municipal Council), Andries Gryffroy (EA/BE; Member of the Flemish Parliament) and Tjisse Stelpstra (ECR/NL; Member of the Executive Council of the Province of Drenthe). The delegation was announced at the ENVE Commission meeting on 21 November where Jacob Werksman, the EU Chief negotiator for the UNFCCC COP25 in Madrid, presented the state of the negotiations between the Parties of the Paris Agreement.

During a separate ceremony held around Thursday's ENVE meeting, the Portuguese town of Lousada was announced as the winner of the 2019 Transformative Action Award . Its initiative ‘Integrated education for sustainability’ was selected by a jury of experts for its potential to bring about the socio-cultural, socio-economic and technological transformation of its community. The European sustainability award is organised by ICLEI, the Basque Country and the City of Aalborg (Denmark) and supported by the CoR and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The ENVE commission also discussed the draft opinion on "Towards sustainable neighbourhoods and small communities - Environment policy below municipal level" (rapporteur Gaetano Armao, IT/EPP, Vice-President and Regional Minister for Economy of the Region of Sicily) that was unanimously approved and will be voted in the plenary of February 2020.

More information:

The CoR political statements for the COP25 are based on the following 2019 opinions:

The November meeting was ENVE's last during the current CoR mandate. Read the end of mandate report .

Contact:
Lauri Ouvinen
Tel. +32 2 282 2063
lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu

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