El Comité Europeo de las Regiones adopta el Dictamen del Presidente Juanma Moreno sobre la Ley Europea del Clima

The European Committee of the Regions adopts the Opinion of President Juanma Moreno on the European Climate Law

The assembly of cities and regions of the European Union has adopted in plenary session the opinion of the President of the Junta de Andalucía on the achievement of climate neutrality and calls for collective responsibility in designing the trajectory towards 2050

Participating electronically from Seville, the speaker and president of the Junta de Andalucía,  Juanma Moreno (ES/PPE)  has declared: «Europe must lead the fight against the global challenge represented by climate change. Cities and regions have a crucial role in achieving climate neutrality, an objective that must boost the economic development of the regions and the creation of employment. It is It is necessary to be able to carry out this transition in a fair and equitable manner and without leaving anyone behind.One of the keys to success will be to involve people and make them part of the change, since society plays a determining role in the adoption of models of sustainable living, local consumption, circular economy and therefore new patterns of behaviour.In addition, we reiterate our call for the achievement of climate objectives to be achieved, mainly,through renewable energy rather than the increased use of nuclear energy.»

As Europe is characterized by the diversity of its regions in terms of climate, environment, landscape, mobility and economic and social structure, the achievement of the climate target will depend to a large extent on local and regional authorities, states the Opinion.

All EU subnational governments should be involved in the development of the EU 2030-2050 trajectory, National Energy and Climate Plans (PNECs) and long-term national policies through a truly participatory multilevel dialogue, thus that the Opinion renews its call to the Member States and the European Commission to establish a permanent Platform for multilevel dialogue on energy.

In order to identify specific scenarios for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and develop plans adapted to each region, the Opinion calls on Member States to develop national emissions inventories at local and regional scale with the direct participation of cities and regions. Similarly, data for monitoring progress under the European Climate Law should be collected at the regional, rather than national, level.

In the international sphere, referring in particular to the Paris Agreement, the CoR reiterates its call for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to include a regional and local breakdown. Local and regional climate targets would improve the precision in monitoring progress and reduce the risk of climate action detrimental to the cohesion of European regions.

The Opinion highlights the positive economic impact of direct and tailored allocation of funds to cities and regions, in line with their specific challenges and objectives.

The approved text reiterates its call in favor of a European observatory for climate neutrality that contributes to the fulfillment of national obligations and submits situation reports within the framework of the governance of the  Energy Union .

The European Committee of the Regions calls for the European Climate Pact to be integrated   into the European Climate Law and proposes that the Pact become an innovative governance instrument that engages citizens and key stakeholders through communication , cooperation and information exchange in both directions.

The Opinion stresses that climate neutrality should be achieved through renewable energy rather than through increased use of nuclear energy.

The assembly asks the European Commission to study the impact of the United Kingdom leaving the EU on achieving the goal of climate neutrality and any intermediate goals. The UK is currently the second largest emitter of CO ₂  in the EU and the reductions it anticipates are well above the EU average.

The Opinion contributes to the interinstitutional debate on the European Climate Law, currently underway in the Council of the European Union. The European Parliament has appointed Jytte Guteland (SE/S&D) as rapporteur  . The European Parliament is scheduled to rule in its plenary session in September 2020.

The debate on President Moreno’s Opinion took place in parallel to a high-level debate on the European Green Deal, which is the EU’s growth strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. On June 15, the CoR launched its Group of Work  «The Green Pact becomes local» . Composed of  thirteen local and regional representatives , its objective is to translate the Green Deal into concrete projects and direct financing for cities and regions in order to achieve a sustainable transition on the ground.

Context

«The COVID-19 recovery plan represents an opportunity to carry out a true green revolution.» Read here the interview  with the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno (May 20, 2020).

Click here  to get to the new web portal «The Green Pact goes local».