COP26: How are cities in Europe and the Mediterranean implementing evidence-based climate & energy action?
On November 9, 6.30pm-7.30pm CEST, at the EU Pavilion, ‘’Racing to 1.5°: cities implementing evidence-based climate & energy action in Europe & Mediterranean will take stock of how local governments in Europe and the Mediterranean are accelerating climate action, implementing science-based measures to fund and secure a resilient, climate neutral future.
Cities and regions, members of the Global Covenant of Mayorsfor Climate & Energy (GCoM), and local government representatives will reflect on their evidence-based, climate and energy plans, and demonstrate impact-driven success stories. Leading members of the co-organising initiatives – the European Commission; the Covenant of Mayors – Europe, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Clima-Med will present pioneering municipalities aiming to implement concrete and actionable sustainability goals towards net-zero emissions. Two leading climate action initiatives in the MENA region will be showcased at the event – the Clima-Med project and ENI CBC MED Programme .
Ms Henrike Trautmann, Acting Director NEAR B, European Commission Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) will give an introductory Keynote for the event. Andy Deacon, Acting managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy will moderate a panel on the importance of local climate action and European Union’s support to partner with countries in their green transition at the national and local level in the Mediterranean region.
As part of the first round of discussions, Paolo Micheli, Mayor of Segrate in Italy is to present the city’s sustainability planning, followed by a JRC presentation on the Impact Assessment Report of the Covenant of Mayors – Europe.
Naguib Amin, Clima-Med’s Team Leader will discuss the specific needs of cities in the Mediterranean region and how European-driven initiatives such as the GCoM, ENI CBC Med Programme, and Clima-MED are supporting action. Dr. Sorina Mortada, Member of the Executive Board, Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation will then speak about the energy sector in the south-east Mediterranean, together with Carlos Carreiras, Mayor of Cascais in Italy.
The second part of the one-hour event will continue with a discussion on the main solutions that local actors are implementing on the ground to align climate action to National NDCs. Participants will discuss the added value of science-based targets and the needs of cities in the Mediterranean region to which the GCoM, and Clima-Med are delivering technical support.