In a high-level debate with MEP Marie Toussaint (FR, Greens/EFA), Janez Potočnik, co-chair of United Nations' International Resource Panel, and Diederik Samsom, new Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Frans Timmermans, ENVE members exchanged views on how the European Green Deal proposed by the European Commission's president-elect Ursula von der Leyen should be implemented in partnership with local and regional authorities. The CoR will adopt a resolution on the European Green Deal in its next plenary session on 4-5 December. It has also invited a delegation of young elected politicians from across EU to Brussels to learn and exchange views on how to accelerate climate action locally. "We very much welcome the European Green Deal, which for the first time puts sustainability at the heart of all EU policies. The Deal must follow a place-based approach to ensure that the challenges faced by our cities and regions are addressed with the right tools, resources and funding. Given our competences and our closeness to the citizens, we are committed to shaping the policies under the Green Deal and to delivering these on the ground for the benefit of our planet and our people", ENVE chair Cor Lamers stated. The COP25 summit, which has been moved from Santiago de Chile to Madrid, will take place between 2 and 13 December 2019. The CoR will be represented in Madrid by First Vice-PresidentMarkku Markkula (EPP/FI), ENVE chair Cor Lamers (EPP/NL; Mayor of Schiedam), ENVE vice-chair Jean-Noël Verfaillie (RE/FR; Member of the Nord Departmental Council), Benedetta Brighenti (PES/IT; Member of Castelnuovo Rangone Municipal Council), Andries Gryffroy (EA/BE; Member of the Flemish Parliament) and Tjisse Stelpstra (ECR/NL; Member of the Executive Council of the Province of Drenthe). The delegation was announced at the ENVE Commission meeting on 21 November where Jacob Werksman, the EU Chief negotiator for the UNFCCC COP25 in Madrid, presented the state of the negotiations between the Parties of the Paris Agreement. During a separate ceremony held around Thursday's ENVE meeting, the Portuguese town of Lousada was announced as the winner of the 2019 Transformative Action Award . Its initiative ‘Integrated education for sustainability’ was selected by a jury of experts for its potential to bring about the socio-cultural, socio-economic and technological transformation of its community. The European sustainability award is organised by ICLEI, the Basque Country and the City of Aalborg (Denmark) and supported by the CoR and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The ENVE commission also discussed the draft opinion on "Towards sustainable neighbourhoods and small communities - Environment policy below municipal level" (rapporteur Gaetano Armao, IT/EPP, Vice-President and Regional Minister for Economy of the Region of Sicily) that was unanimously approved and will be voted in the plenary of February 2020. More information: The CoR political statements for the COP25 are based on the following 2019 opinions: A Clean Planet for all – A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy , rapporteur Michele Emiliano (IT/PES); Sustainable Europe by 2030: Follow-up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ecological transition and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change , rapporteur Sirpa Hertell (FI/EPP); Implementing the Paris Agreement through innovative and sustainable energy transition at regional and local level , rapporteur Witold Stępień (PL/EPP); Implementing the Clean Energy Package: the NECPs as a tool for local and territorial governance approach to climate, active and passive energy , rapporteur József Ribányi (HU/EPP); Multilevel governance and cross-sectoral cooperation to fight energy poverty , rapporteur Kata Tüttő (HU/PES); Smart cities: new challenges for a just transition toward climate neutrality – how to implement the SDGs in real life? , rapporteur Andries Gryffroy (BE/EA); Covenant of Mayors post 2020 , rapporteur Benedetta Brighenti (IT/PES) – to be adopted at the December plenary session; The political statements of Andrew Cooper's (UK/EA) opinion for the COP24 in Katowice are also still valid, especially after the Katowice conclusions, inviting the Parties to consider the outcome, inputs and outputs of the Talanoa Dialogue. The November meeting was ENVE's last during the current CoR mandate. Read the end of mandate report . Contact:Lauri OuvinenTel. +32 2 282 [email protected]'s block ads! (Why?)