By Martha Moss - 27th November 2009
As world leaders gear up for the Copenhagen climate conference, Europe's regions have called on policymakers to give them more power to take on environmental challenges.
Speaking as the Assembly of European Regions' (AERs') annual conference got underway in Belfort, France, the organisation's president Michèle Sabban highlighted that the meeting was "the last major assembly before Copenhagen".
She told reporters on Thursday that she would "carry the voice of the regions to Copenhagen", lobbying heads of state gathered in Denmark's capital to take into account the provisions in the AER's 'Belfort appeal'.
The appeal, set to be officially adopted by AER members at the general assembly, says regions should have more competencies and more power to tackle climate change.
It says, "The AER regions call on negotiators to promote and implement an ambitious climate policy that fully addresses the energy challenges of the 21st century.
"This environmental and energy crisis requires a broad response that cannot be achieved by state levels alone. Indeed there cannot be an effective response unless regions are included in a collective effort to fight climate change."
The conference, held at GE Energy's European headquarters and entitled 'Energising Europe responsibly: Regional innovation and diversity for growth and jobs', focuses on how regions can help boost employment and overcome the effects of the recession.
And Sabban, who is also vice-president of Ile-de-France, said AER had decided to become an "action tank… at the very heart of innovation", adding that "territories are the ones that create jobs".
AER secretary general Klaus Klipp highlighted a recent survey of 66 regions in 24 countries across wider Europe, which found that 91 per cent saw energy as one of the key priorities for the next 15 years.
Of these, 75 per cent already have an energy strategy in place, usually one which includes a specific plan for developing renewable energy sources, the survey found.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Cordoba, the president of GE Energy western Europe and north Africa, whose organisation has a long-standing partnership with the AER, said it was "quite an honour to have been selected by AER" because the move acknowledges the company as "a European player".
Cordoba also insisted that GE was involved to offer AER "technical expertise" and not as part of a commercial exercise.
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