In this interview, Paula Fernández Viaña (ES/Renew Europe) spoke about the impact of Brexit and COVID-19 on the Atlantic regions. In response to the current challenges, the Minister for the Presidency, Home Affairs, Justice and External Action of the Government of Cantabria has put forward a series of proposals to strengthen cooperation between the Atlantic regions. In particular, she proposes creating an Atlantic macro-region, as well as taking tangible steps towards a sustainable and resilient blue economy in the Atlantic. These proposals are set out in an opinion due to be presented by the Cantabrian Minister on 17 March at the European Committee of the Regions' plenary session.
The Regional Council of Western Macedonia may propose to suspend all licensing of renewable energy projects and their implementation until spatial and sustainable development planning rules are adopted for the area. It is the most important province for the energy transition plans pushed by Greece’s government.
Following controversy regarding a floating solar power plant project on one of Greece’s biggest lakes, the majority in the Regional Council of Western Macedonia decided to demand the suspension of all licensing for green energy applications and works until the completion of the regional framework for spatial planning and sustainable development as well as for renewables.
Regional and municipal councils must get a decisive role in the sector so that they can contribute to the creation of green jobs and environmental protection while ensuring the priority for local investors in the segment of renewable energy, the draft document adds. The proposal was launched immediately after the local authorities stood up against covering up to a quarter of one of the country’s biggest lakes with solar power plants.
Climate Action Network France launched on Monday (11 January) its observatory of regional climate-energy targets, a tool that makes it possible to visualise the progress of each French region in terms of energy and climate transition.
On its website, progress is presented using three main indicators: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, end-user energy consumption, and renewable energy production within each region. Graphs provide an overview of how far each region has come in achieving its energy and climate objectives
Deuxième volet de notre série d’entretiens balisant les grands enjeux énergie-climat de la rentrée. Relance verte, objectifs climatiques de la politique régionale, fonds de transition juste… Le président de la commission du Développement régional, chargé de la politique de cohésion, analyse pour Contexte l’impact des décisions budgétaires du sommet du 21 juillet sur les travaux à venir.
The Wuppertal Institute undertakes research and develops models, strategies and instruments for transitions to a sustainable development. Its research focuses on the resources, climate and energy related challenges and their relation to economy and society
Just transition is a buzzword in policy circles today. There is consensus that the transition towards climate neutrality should be a just one. However, when and even if such a transition should really take place, is still met with vastly diverging viewpoints. At the same time, what ‘just’ actually means and what its implications are for national and EU policy is even less certain.
This report – a review of four case study regions of the transition from coal in Europe – illustrates that even though each region is different, the challenges they face to ensure a just transition from coal are strikingly similar.
On 27 February, the mayor of Seville Juan Espadas (ES/PES) chaired its first meeting as president of the Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). The European Green Deal is the top priority for this new mandate. Upcoming ENVE opinions include water, clean air, hydrogen and biodiversity. New rapporteurs have been appointed for the 'European Climate Law', the 'Climate Pact' and the 'New Circular Economy Action Plan'.
Petr Blížkovský, former member of Brno City Council and professor of economics, was appointed Secretary-General of the European Committee of the Regions on 7 October 2019, for a period of five years. We sat down with him for a quick chat about his experience and his vision for the European Committee of the Regions.
The GIZ Open Regional Fund for South East Europe – Energy Efficiency (GIZ ORF-EE) has implemented a series of projects over the last eight years which have resulted in strong partnerships and cooperation with MPs from across the region. By supporting the work of parliamentarians through its regional collaboration, knowledge and experience exchange platform, GIZ ORF-EE, on behalf of German Government, has not only contributed to developing and adopting policies and laws to improve energy efficiency in the countries of the region, but also supported the countries in launching the energy transition process and changing their urban mobility paradigm. We spoke with five MPs from the region and asked them about the cooperation with GIZ ORF-EE. In the second interview, following the success of the first one, you can read about the way MPs see their cooperation with the GIZ ORF-EE and national political schools, as well as their views on the status of energy transition processes in their respective countries.
In December 2018, a new concept of permanent structured dialogue mechanism was proposed for discussion by the presidents of the CoR and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The call for a reinforced link between the EU and its citizens was reaffirmed by the Declaration of the 8th European Summit of Regions and Cities in March this year. The CoR is thus in the process of designing its "European Citizens’ Consultations" model; a more permanent and structured format, combined with a feedback mechanism aiming to better include the local level in the EU decision-making process. In order to prepare for this new model, the fifth of a series of lunchtime seminars will be held in the European Committee of the Regions on the 7th of May. Ms Claudia Chwalisz, Policy Analyst, Open Government Unit, OECD, Ms Corina Stratulat, Senior Policy Analyst, Head of Programme, EPC and Mr Dominik Hierlemann, Bertelsmann Foundation, Gütersloh/Brussels, Belgium will present the academic point of view on citizen engagement.
The Energy Transition Fund called for by the European Parliament is more than just a pot of money to support coal-dependent regions, says Claude Turmes, Luxembourg’s minister for energy and spatial planning.
In this interview, María Belarmina Díaz Aguado, Director General of Energy, Mining & Repurposing, Government of Asturias (Spain), talked to us about Asturia's challenges in their path towards decarbonisation. We discussed their industrial legacy, their action plans and how the START programme helped them open up to technical assistance and seek out improved ways of undertaking stakeholder engagement.
The European Green Deal sets out Europe’s ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Given the different starting points of various regions to face the coming changes, the Just Transition Fund was created with the aim of alleviating the socio-economic impacts of the transition, so as to ensure that everyone in Europe benefits from it. In order for it to be successful, it is clear that young people have to be involved. In this context, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy published a ‘Toolkit for Youth Participation in the Just Transition Fund’. It aims to encourage more ambitious, meaningful and numerous participation opportunities for youth in the regions targeted by the Just Transition Fund.
Cheffes de file sur le climat et l’énergie, les régions ont un rôle central à jouer dans la mise en œuvre de la transition climatique. De par leurs compétences stratégiques en matière de planification territoriale, elles fixent les objectifs climatiques à atteindre et déclinent la mise en œuvre concrète de la Stratégie nationale bas carbone (SNBC) sur les territoires. Au niveau de la région comme ailleurs le climat doit devenir une priorité de l’ensemble de l'action publique régionale.
Self-consumption of renewable energy can provide financial, environmental and security benefits for households, businesses, grid operators-Distribution system operators (DSOs) and transmission system operators (TSOs) –and society at large, though the market is newly developing,and significant progress is still needed to both deepen market penetration, and ensure that the grid can manage resulting changes in energy flows. In many countries, solar photovoltaics (PV)is approaching grid parity, making self-consumption an attractive measure, with ‘prosumers’ able to self-consume their generated sustainable electricity and sell-off any excess into the energy grid. Where parity is not yet met, further political and economic support is needed and there are multiple options available for regions. The EU’s Clean Energy Package requires EU Member States to remove barriers to self-consumption, though the exact measures to be implemented are flexible and dependent on national and regional scenarios. For regions, enabling self-consumption puts consumers at the heart of the low-carbon transition and unleashes private investment, so is a potentially cost-effective strategy to meet renewable energy and emissions reductions targets. Although much is determined at the national level, regions have several options available for them to boost self-consumption.
La Région prépare un grand plan de transformation et de développement, baptisé « Green New Deal ». Pour construire ce véritable projet de société, elle fait appel aux habitants d'Occitanie : elle…
The Platform for coal regions in transition has just launched a suite of toolkits to assist practitioners in EU coal regions. The toolkits focus on key aspects of the transition: strategies, governance, employment and welfare support, and environmental rehabilitation. Click the button below to access the toolkits.
An exchange platform will help sharing needs and solutions, will enhance mutual support and act as a feedback mechanism to enable a reality check of the EU measures from the local and regional angle. The CoR will provide local communities with regular and practical information about EU actions.
In operational and concrete terms, the CoR Action Plan will: 1) foster EU support to local and regional authorities in the health sector, via the call for an EU Health Emergency Mechanism; 2) create a platform to exchange, cooperate and facilitate mutual support between cities and regions across EU; 3) provide, through CoR mechanisms, concrete feedback from the local and regional angle on how to address the health, social and economic aspects of the pandemic and their impact on the people and their local communities; 4) provide regular, practical information to local and regional authorities on EU measures to address the crisis; 5) facilitate a reality check on the ground of the EU's measures to fight the pandemic; gather evidence from Members to improve EU policies based on the experiences of the local and regional level (policy health check). These actions and measures will be accompanied by communication targeted actions to explain what the EU is doing to assist and support local communities in their fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking during the debate, Apostolos Tzitsikostas (EPP), the newly elected President of the European Committee of the Regions and Governor of the Greek Region of Central Macedonia, warned "The Conference on the Future of Europe must be the opportunity to have a genuine discussion with citizens and change the European Union. If it is not to be another disappointment, it must be open and inclusive. If it is top-down, centralised, Brussels-driven and does not actively involve its local and regional leaders, the Conference will fail. Only by coming together, being ambitious and open to change, can we restore trust and build an EU that puts citizens first."
While national governments fall short in agreeing on carbon neutrality objectives, local and regional representatives shared their will to commit and deliver ambitious climate policies during the meeting of the European Committee of the Regions commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy. At the COTER Commission meeting that took place today at the European Committee of the Regions, local and regional leaders and representatives of the European Commission exchanged their views.
The European Parliament shall not accept cuts on the budget of Cohesion Policy and expects the European Commission and its new President to be on its side, says MEP Younous Omarjee.
Extremadura will soon have the largest photovoltaic power plant in Europe, which will supply clean energy to 250,000 people. It has recently been made clear that an important agreement has been struck between the European Investment Bank, Instituto de Crédito Oficial and Iberdrola for the financial contributions to the green energy project. According to the agreement, the EU bank is providing EUR 145 million and the Spanish credit institution – another EUR 140 million of the total investment of 290 million.
As heads of state and government of the EU member states meet in Sibiu on Europe Day, Karl-Heinz Lambertz urges them to work towards a more cohesive, sustainable and democratic Europe.
The last stone to build a more integrated and effective Europe is to set up a “new way of working” giving regions and cities a stronger role throughout the decision-making process. It is all about ensuring closer proximity to people. This needs to be complemented by increasing the democratic participation of citizens within the EU through a permanent system of citizens’ dialogue.
For the EU to show unity and be more responsive to the need of its citizens, it needs its regions and cities. As citizens go to vote to decide the kind of Europe they want, we must offer more than words but a new vision that transforms the way it works, giving a greater voice so its regions and cities can deliver. It’s future, our children’s future, that is at stake.
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