By Martha Moss - 4th May 2010
As more than 500 European mayors pledge to go beyond the EU's climate targets, parliament president Jerzy Buzek has said that "global problems need local solutions".
Europe's mayors and local representatives "are the key people" to help the EU secure its energy supply, maintain economic competitiveness and tackle climate change, said Buzek.
"They are closer to our citizens than any parliament, any government, [and] are the most important for solving our common problems," he said.
Buzek was joined by EU commission president José Manuel Barroso and Spanish prime minister José Luis Zapatero for the second covenant of mayors ceremony in Brussels on Tuesday.
Some 1680 towns and cities from across Europe have now signed the covenant declaration, committing themselves to cutting their carbon emissions by more than 20 per cent by 2020.
Parliament has also been "acting locally" in introducing 'green electricity' in the Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg buildings, cutting CO2 emissions by 19 per cent, he added.
Signatories of the covenant, an EU commission initiative supported by the parliament and the Committee of the Regions (CoR), are committed to measuring how much CO2 they emit, set out how they will cut emissions and raise awareness among their citizens.
Barroso told mayors gathered for the ceremony that they "represent the essence and spirit" of EU values. "From the local level you are building a European and global initiative, in the most genuine expression of Europe's democratic values," he added.
He said, "Amidst the current financial and economic situation we have to make climate action one of the keys to economic recovery.
"Most citizens sensibly expect action by their leaders which addresses both challenges."
EU energy commissioner Günther Oettinger said the covenant "has become a key element of EU sustainable energy policy".
"Regions and cities are demonstrating that climate mitigation is one of the best economic recovery strategies," he added.
"I'm very pleased to see the level of commitment and wealth of ideas that have come out of a local level."
Oettinger said the commission was helping cities meet their climate targets with programmes such as the Elena initiative, which provides local authorities with funding worth €15m for energy projects.
"Partnership is the watchword for the fight against climate change," he said.
Beyond Copenhagen
The CoR used the occasion to launch a new database aimed at helping signatories share best practice on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
CoR first vice-president Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso said, "National leaders failed at Copenhagen: local leaders must not."
The survey on sustainable energy policies "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", he said.
"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."
Siso added, "Local and regional governments are the closest to citizens and we have to share our responsibility in the fight against global warming."
Eurocities, which represents more than 140 cities, gave a guarded welcome to proposals to allocate €150m from the EU recovery package to climate action at a local level.
"Eurocities pressed hard in 2009 for €500m of recovery funding for green growth projects," said secretary general Paul Bevan. "So this proposal is rather little, and rather late.
"However, despite the financial pressures they are under, Europe's cities are 'ready to go' on local climate actions.
"Let's make sure that this funding can be accessed quickly and easily and does not get caught in a tangle of red tape."
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