“National leaders failed at Copenhagen: local leaders must not”: CoR launches unique database of local climate action

A new initiative from the Committee of the Regions (CoR) will help signatories of the Covenant of Mayors turn their commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions into a concrete reality, as local leaders push ahead with plans to tackle climate change despite the failure of Copenhagen.

Speaking at the Covenant of Mayors signing ceremony in the European Parliament on 4 May, CoR First Vice-President Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso said: “National leaders failed at Copenhagen: local leaders must not. We have today launched a survey on sustainable energy policies in regions and cities as the first phase of our initiative to collect and disseminate best practice in tackling climate change. I invite all signatories of the Covenant of Mayors, and all local and regional authorities, to participate. This is not simply a question of collecting information about who is doing what – it is also an opportunity to see how they are doing it, why they are doing it and how they could do it better by working together with others.”

Building on the expertise of its Europe2020 Monitoring Platform, enlarged to include contributions from Covenant of Mayors members, the CoR will compile a unique database of action being carried out at the local level to combat global warming. The data will then be shared with all the members of the platform and Covenant of Mayors signatories to allow them to learn from their peers about how best to meet their obligations to cut emissions. The results will also form part of the Committee of the Regions' contributions to the new EU Energy Action Plan, which will set the framework for European energy policy to 2020, and to the special session of the European Council devoted to energy policy in May 2011.

The data collected by the survey will constitute a significant source of ideas for local and regional authorities looking to tackle energy issues, but information alone is not enough to achieve concrete results, Vice-President Valcárcel stressed.

“Learning how others are coping with the climate challenge is only part of the story: many cities and towns lack the resources to face these issues on their own, and financial and administrative support on the ground is vital if they are to succeed. That is why the role of regions as supporting structures within the Covenant of Mayors is so important. The Committee of the Regions will focus its efforts on encouraging more of these important stakeholders to take the Covenant of Mayors pledge.”

The CoR will also continue to play its part in defining the role of local and regional authorities in the wider EU efforts to protect the environment. The CoR's commission for the environment, energy and climate change (ENVE) is preparing two flagship opinions in this area: an outlook opinion on the role of local and regional authorities in future environmental policy, by Paula Baker (UK/ALDE), requested by the Spanish EU Presidency; and an opinion on fighting climate change post-Copenhagen, by Nicola Beer (DE/ALDE).

The survey, in all languages, can be found on the website of the Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform

Visit the CoR's website: www.cor.europa.eu

The Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. The mission of its 344 members from all 27 EU Member States is to involve regional and local authorities and the communities they represent in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council are obliged to consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. It can appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.