“Local and regional authorities play a crucial role in handling and mitigating the current climate emergency,” stated Congress Vice-President Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP/CCE) at the Normandy World Peace Forum on 2 October 2020. Speaking at the debate on “Global challenges, local responses: what solutions for the climate?”, organised by the Assembly of European Regions (AER), Mrs. Helgesen presented the Congress’s work aimed at implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030. “According to a UN estimate, 65 per cent of all the SDG targets can only be achieved through solid local and regional work. Implementing SDGs successfully means implementing them at the territorial level,” she said.
The Congress contributes to SDG 13, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its effects, by focusing on three topics: quality of the environment, impact of climate change on citizens’ lives and energy transition. “The role of local and regional authorities is to raise people’s awareness and change their behaviour while at the same time maintaining social cohesion,” she pointed out, adding that “the involvement of citizens, especially young people, is a key element to work towards a more sustainable future.” The Congress is currently preparing a publication for children that local and regional authorities can distribute in schools to raise awareness on climate change and the implementation of SDGs.
“Local and regional authorities need to adopt strategies and adapt their communities to respond to the environmental emergency. They must be given greater autonomy, appropriate powers and enough financial resources to tackle this challenge,” explained the Vice-President, underlining the importance of consultation mechanisms with local and regional authorities at the national and international level.
The Congress is responsible for the local and regional dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the Council of Europe. The Congress's approach is based on three key principles: achieving SDGs is the shared responsibility of all levels of government; local and regional authorities must have the necessary competences and financial autonomy to achieve the goals in their respective areas; citizens must always remain at the heart of the action. The Congress appointed Vladimir Prebilič (Slovenia, SOC/G/PD) as thematic spokesperson on climate change and the environment.
