Mayors from Europe and America join forces to combat climate change
7 October 2009, Brussels, Belgium
On 7 October, Mayors from both sides of the Atlantic met in Brussles to discuss their prospective cooperation in order to highlight the key role played by the local and regional level in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The aim is to ensure the recognition of local governments role in a post-2012 global climate agreement which will hopefully be adopted at COP 15 in Copenhagen.
On the occasion of the high-level debate on climate change during the Plenary Session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) of the European Union (EU), the vice-president of the US Conference of Mayors, Elizabeth B. Kautz, met with the President of the CoR, Luc Van den Brande, and EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs to discuss ways in which her organisation can work more effectively with its EU equivalent, the Covenant of Mayors.
Among the possible collaboration opportunities discussed by the three politicians were 'green' twinning programmes that would allow cities in the US and Europe to share information about best mitigation and adaptation practices and to combine their awareness-raising efforts among citizens in regard to the need for energy-savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions.
„US mayors stand solidly with mayors across the globe who believe that climate disruption is an urgent threat to the environmental and economic health of our communities. Although our national government did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, almost 1,000 US mayors have subsequently signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging to meet or beat Kyoto Protocol targets. Mayors continue to devise successful, effective strategies for climate protection and to push national leaders to support these efforts," said Kautz.
Luc Van den Brande, President of the CoR, added: "I am delighted that our colleagues from across the Atlantic have agreed to look at ways in which we can all work more closely together towards the shared goal of adapting to climate change at the local and regional level. The Covenant of Mayors, which is strongly supported by the Committee of the Regions, now has more than 700 signatories from across the EU, and its message to Copenhagen – that regions and cities are already working tirelessly to reduce tackle climate change at the local level, in many cases going further than their national governments – will be all the more clearly heard and understood if it is combined with that of the US Conference of Mayors."
Commissioner Piebalgs said: "If the battle against climate change is to be won, it will have to be fought in the cities. I'm very proud that the mayors of America and Europe are willing to work together in this endeavour, and I am convinced that the role of the administration which is closest to the citizen, the municipalities, will play a major role in mobilising efforts to reach an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen".
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