COP26 November 9: How cities in Europe and the Mediterranean are implementing evidence-based climate & energy action
On November 9, Clima-Med participated in the ‘’Racing to 1.5°: Cities implementing evidence-based climate & energy action in Europe & Mediterranean’’.
In her introductory keynote, Ms. Henrike Trautmann, Acting Director NEAR B, European Commission Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) reflected on the role and commitment of local governments in implementing evidence-based climate and energy actions, in the context of the EU goal to become a climate neutral continent by 2050 and the EU Green deal. Ms Trautmann pointed out to the EU funded projects for the Southern Neighborhood and how, with Clima-Med in particular, they have been supporting local authorities in the Mediterranean in the development and implementation of SEACAPs and through the setup and operations of the regional Covenant of Mayors for the Mediterranean, CoM Med. She also presented the new EU programme: Climate for Cities (C4C), which directly supports financing of SEACAPs projects, and future EU plans to support climate finance.
Mayor Paolo Micheli of Segrate presented the sustainability planning initiatives and actions underway in the city. He gave examples with a green highway project for the municipality and the co-design of climate-environmental projects with local communities and academia.
Paolo Bertoldi from the JRC gave a presentation on the Impact Assessment Report of the Covenant of Mayors impact, which covers CoM Med Mediterranean, the Eastern Partnership countries and Europe, noting how the analysis shows the city results from their participation in this major EU-led GCoMinitiative.
Dr. Sorina Mortada, Member of the Executive Board, Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation presented the perspective of the ENI CBC MED Programme and success stories covered by initiatives such as BEEP, and ESMES. In her presentation, Dr. Mortada explained the challenge met to face climate change along a very high energy demand in the MENA region.
Dr. Naguib Amin, Clima-Med’s Team Leader presented the project’s support to mainstreaming climate actions and prepare Climate Action Strategies at national level, to the preparation of100 SEACAPs, in addition to setting innovative ways to financing their climate actions, while attracting the private sector and setting partnerships with IFIs.
Ms. Joana Balsemao from the Municipality of Cascais in Portugal explained the municipal work to compile a climate neutrality map as a tool towards the city’s climate neutrality by 2030. She pointed out to capacity building needs for city practitioners to allow better understanding of climate action measures and replication of know-how.