EU Green Deal: regions and cities urge national governments to establish permanent climate and energy dialogue

Member States should include in energy and climate plans clear commitments on technical and financial support for local and regional authorities.

The ambitious goals of the European Green Deal require unprecedented and rapid changes in the coming decades largely at the local and regional levels. To ensure that all Green Deal initiatives are "local-proofed" and will not lead to growing territorial and social disparities, regions and cities are calling on the EU co-legislators to engage an in-depth review and revision of the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action Regulation and to establish a permanent climate and energy dialogue. The recommendations drafted by Joško Klisović (HR/PES), President of Zagreb City Assembly, were adopted by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 30 November.

To better assess the local impact of new Green Deal initiatives and to smoothen their implementation, the CoR stresses that local and regional authorities must be involved at a very early stage to feed the EU policy making with their knowledge of the social and economic context in which EU policies are put in practise. The CoR commits to taking an active and leading role in this local-proofing exercise, and in developing a comprehensive Green Deal monitoring and outlook system with harmonised indicators to assess territorial specificities and vulnerabilities.

A recent CoR study drew attention to the poor quality of multilevel dialogues and consultations on national energy and climate plans in some Member States. Mr Klisović's opinion is calling for a reform of the Governance Regulation to require Member States to establish a permanent climate and energy dialogue with local and regional authorities (LRAs).

Furthermore, as the Green Deal implies many new planning obligations and targets for local and regional authorities, the revised Governance Regulation should make it mandatory for the Member States to include a new chapter in the national energy and climate plans on "Support and resources provided to LRAs for implementation", with detailed information on technical assistance and EU funding opportunities. The CoR also points out the need for more support to local and regional energy and climate agencies, and suggests the creation of Green Deal one-stop shops at subnational level to offer easily accessible information and guidance.

Lastly, the CoR insists that the review of the Green Deal framework must address all aspects relating to vulnerable groups and social and territorial needs. It suggests reinforcing the existing link between the country-specific recommendations of the European Semester and the implementation of national energy and climate plans. Furthermore, the major European funding programmes and cohesion policy should ensure that substantial financial resources reach the local and regional level, where the climate and energy transition is happening. This should lead to a European framework for sustainable and inclusive wellbeing economy to ensure that GDP is not the sole indicator of societal progress in the EU.

Quote:

"The Green Deal could work only with a strong social dimension, if we make it an accessible and affordable solution for all, leaving no one and territory behind. This must be a paramount priority for the next European mandate and even beyond We must guide and protect our citizens through this massive transition, especially the most vulnerable, eradicating energy and mobility poverty, creating new jobs and ensuring that local and regional authorities be provided with adequate financial and human resources in their administrations to implement the EGD. To this aim, we call for a sound governance framework which actively involves cities and regions as essential actors in its implementation”, Mr Klisović said.

More information:

· European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) briefing on Cohesion policy and climate change: Actions taken by regional and local authorities (November 2023)

· The opinion is part of the broader reflection on the future of the European Green Deal launched by the CoR in view of the European elections and the change of the EU mandate in 2024. The Green Deal 2.0 should become an umbrella strategy, further aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals framework (SDGs) that encompasses the most relevant dimensions of sustainable development to achieve environmental and social goals, while keeping the climate neutrality target as a compass.

Contact:

Lauri Ouvinen

Tel. +32 473536887

lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu