Members adopted the draft opinion
'Implementing the Clean Energy Package: the National Energy and
Climate Plans (NECPs) as a tool for local and territorial
governance approach to climate, active and passive energy'
. Rapporteur József Ribányi (HU/EPP), Vice-President
of the County Council of Tolna Megye said: "
Member States must critically assess the multilevel climate and
energy dialogues they have in place to ensure that local and
regional authorities are closely involved as stated by the Energy
Union governance regulation. It is through these dialogues that
cites and regions but also civil society, businesses and relevant
stakeholders, can engage in the definition and implementation of
energy and climate strategies and action plans. We must not forget
that cities and regions manage large building stocks and public
transport networks, hold direct competencies in urban planning and
land management, and operate as regulators of decentralised energy
generation. As the assembly representing cities and regions in the
EU, we aim at contributing to National Energy and Climate Plans
and, in particular, to the multilevel climate and energy dialogues
."
Members adopted the draft opinion
'Sustainable Europe by 2030, follow-up to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs): The Paris Agreement on Climate
Change'
. Rapporteur Sirpa Hertell (FI/EPP),
City Councillor of Espoo called for an overarching EU SDGs Strategy to
guide all the EU policies and actions. Rapporteur Hertell said: " “We
need to have a systemic approach to avoid fragmented and contradictory
policies
Cities and regions must be empowered as they are responsible for
65% of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in
Europe. Localising sustainable development actions in climate,
energy and environmental policies is crucial to achieve the 2030
Agenda. The CoR calls for the setting out of integrated, inclusive
local goals and targets, implementation actions and indicators to
measure and monitor progress on implementing SDGs in line with the
principle of multi-level governance
."
Members adopted the draft opinion
'Implementing the Paris Agreement through innovative and
sustainable energy transition at regional and local level'
. Rapporteur Witold STĘPIEŃ (PL/EPP), Member of the Łódzkie Regional Assembly, said: “
Achieving the Paris Agreement requires higher ambition and a rapid
transition towards a sustainable and innovative energy system. The
involvement of European cities and regions, as well as citizens, is
crucial given their responsibilities in energy production,
distribution and consumption. Local and regional authorities should
be considered as essential partners by national governments and
have better access to finance, to new technologies and to capacity
building programmes in order to ensure a fair energy transition in
coal regions but also carbon intense regions and islands across
Europe.”
The European Committee of the Regions calls for a Transition Allocation
of €4.8 billion under the 2021-2027 cohesion policy to facilitate a
sustainable transition in coal regions. It also supports the raising of
the level of permissible state aid for projects related to the energy
transition in coal regions, as well as to increase the funding rate to
profit-oriented organisations within dedicated EU programmes from 60 to
70%. The EU's assembly of cities and regions reiterates its call to
earmark at least 30% of the next EU budget to climate policy
mainstreaming.
Local leaders call on the European Commission and Member States to
raise the target for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 40 to
50% by 2030 and those for energy efficiency and renewables to 40% by
2030 (currently agreed at 32.5% and 32% respectively) as a crucial
stepping-stone to achieve climate neutral Europe by 2050.
Members had an exchange of views on the
'Covenant of Mayors post 2020'
drafted by rapporteur Benedetta Brighenti (IT/PES), Member of Castelnuovo Rangone Municipal
Council in Modena. During the debate it was stressed that local leaders
want more support for the almost 10.000 cities and regions that are
voluntarily implementing Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans
(SECAPs) under the Covenant of Mayors and to urgently develop the
complementarity between Nationally Determined Contributions and Locally
/ Regionally Determined Contributions under the Paris Climate
Agreement.
Note to editors:
Please
click here
to download pictures from the ENVE commission meeting.
Please
click here
to download pictures of the SET PLAN conference.
All documents of the ENVE Commission meeting can be
downloaded here.
NECPs stands for National Energy and Climate Plans. These are to
include Member States' energy and climate strategies and actions for
the period 2021-2030 to contribute to the EU's 2030 targets. Member
States needed to submit their NECP drafts by the end of 2018. They must
now prepare and submit their final versions by 31 December this year.
The legislative resolution on the Governance of the Energy Union
adopted in November 2018 calls on Member States to establish multilevel
climate and energy dialogues that include local and regional
authorities.
Read here
the European Parliament legislative resolution on the Governance of the
Energy Union.
The CoR is contributing to the European Commission's
Reflection Paper 'Sustainable Europe by 2030'
released in January 2019 with a second opinion, entitled
'Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a basis for a long-term
EU strategy for a sustainable Europe by 2030'
. The rapporteur is Arnoldas Abramavičius (LT/EPP),
member of the Zarasai District Municipal Council and Head of the
Lithuanian delegation to the CoR. The opinion is to be adopted next
plenary session 26-27 June 2019.
According to the
EU's Joint Research Centre
, hard coal and lignite mining takes place in 41 regions across 12
Member States. Coal activities in the EU provide direct jobs to about
240,000 people: Poland sees the highest employment rate in coal mining
(over 99,000), followed by Germany (25,000), The Czech Republic
(18,000), Romania (15,000) and Bulgaria (12,000).
The cohesion policy Transition Allocation of €4.8 billion to green coal
regions is a key proposal also included in the Commission for Economic
Policy (ECON) opinion
‘The socio-economic transformation of Europe's coal regions’
by rapporteur Mark Speich (DE/EPP), Secretary of State
for Federal, European and International Affairs of North-Rhine
Westphalia.
Contact:
David Crous |
david.crous@cor.europa.eu
| +32 (0) 470 88 10 37