Despite the energy and climate package, Europe is still a long way from the “3x20”
The Covenant of Mayors will, we hope, reverse the trend!
Communiqué from Energie-Cités - December 2008
An agreement has always a symbolic virtue. This is true of the agreement reached by the European Union Council on 12th December 2008, which in itself conveys a very positive message: the Europeans have managed to come to an agreement! On the way to Copenhagen, symbols will be important and we would be quite wrong to ignore them!
But are Member States really capable of reaching an agreement that is not just a compromise aimed at preserving national industrial interests? What about the building sector and its 40% emissions? What about transport and its 30% emissions, even setting aside car performances? What about town planning which is responsible for most of our emissions? What about modal transfers within and outside the city? What about energy efficiency? Where are the signals heralding a new green economy? And finally, where are the citizens? Nowhere! Hopefully, the agreement on renewable energy makes up for this, although our common 20% target will boil down to a mere 5% if we stick to the compromise and that is not very much!
The energy and climate issue has, of course, international, European and national components. But in the end, who decides on the way people travel around in urban areas, on cycle paths and public transport? On the organisation of urban activities and the relations between them? On urban regeneration? New constructions? Town planning regulations? Stimulating sustainable economic activities? Citizen involvement? Or fuel poverty? The list goes on. We better understand now the role of local authorities, and even, that of all the citizens and local players! And the need to give them the necessary means of action! Such is the message that local authorities put forward in Poznan, a message that is starting to come across!
Thanks to the Covenant of Mayors initiative launched by the European Commission in communication with local authority networks, there is hope. Imagine hundreds and thousands of European towns and cities committed to reducing their emissions and energy use by 20% and increasing the share of renewable energy up to 20% of their energy mix by 2020 on a voluntary basis! This, as in the US, would give tremendous impetus to Member States and the European Union and encourage them to make the decisions the situation requires.
Energie-Cités, together with other city networks and all interested players will endeavour to bring this about. In the meanwhile, we invite you to come to Brussels from 22nd to 24th April 2009 to attend our 13th Annual RendezVous entitled: “3x20: Play the game!”.
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