The Basque Declaration - New Pathways for European Cities and Towns to create productive, sustainable and resilient cities, was presented at the opening session of the II Foro de las Ciudades (Cities Forum) in Madrid (Spain), which focused on the New Urban Agenda "“ Habitat III. Ruud Schuthof, ICLEI Europe's Deputy Regional Director, explained how the Basque Declaration relates to the global and the European urban policy frameworks and the important role local governments play in achieving the goals set by national governments. The Basque Declaration encourages local governments to accelerate socio-cultural, socio-economic and technological transformations for which it provides 15 pathways. The declaration has already been endorsed by nearly 200 cities, organisations and individuals.

II Foro de las Ciudades gathered around 800 local authorities and professionals working on solutions to create more sustainable urban spaces. The event was a platform for discussion of different topics related to urbanisation. Carmen Sà¡nchez-Miranda, Head of the Madrid Office of UN-HABITAT, said that urbanisation has a transformative role but "it needs to be properly planned". Verà³nica Arias, Environment Secretary of the Council of Quito (Ecuador), host of HABITAT III, highlighted that local authorities have the challenge to promote sustainable urban development and encouraged them to participate in Habitat III.

The Basque Declaration, acclaimed by around 900 participants of the 8th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, held in the Basque Country from 27-29 April 2016, provides 15 pathways for European Cities and Towns to create productive, sustainable and resilient cities for a liveable and inclusive Europe. Cities, organisations and citizens are called upon to endorse the Basque Declaration.

For more information on the Basque Declaration, click here.Image copyright: Image (ICLEI European Secretariat) more   17 June 2016 Local governments are the cornerstone of energy transition, panellists at EUSEW16 agreeRonan Dantec, Senator for the Loire-Atlantique (France); Joost Venken, Deputy Mayor of Hasselt (France); Stephan Brandligt, Deputy Mayor of Delft (The Netherlands), and Andrew V. Cooper, Member of the Committee of the Regions and Member of Kirklees County Council (UK) - panellists at the "Energy Union: local leadership driving the transition" event held within the EUSEW16 - agreed that the energy transition is going to take place at local level, highlighting the key role local governments should play during the climate package negotiations.

"It is crucial that local governments and their networks share efforts in defining the strategy. Energy is not only consumed but also produced by local authorities," said Ronan Dantec. Joost Venken remarked that the urgency for change has encouraged citizens to take action, as they feel it takes too long to change frameworks. "There are too many obstacles regarding the legal framework, making it difficult to enable the transition between local and national level, and this is a challenge for local governments."

Stephan Brandligt stated that "energy transition is not only about energy, but also about social affairs and social innovation. It is therefore also about economy and local jobs, and it is necessary to make this connection for a successful transition". Andrew V. Cooper explained how in Kirklees they link the energy transition to income regeneration. The City plan for action focuses on reducing energy poverty and achieving the highest energy efficiency standards. Toni Vidan, Vice-president of the TEN Committee, European Economic and Social Committee, and moderator of the discussion, emphasised the relevance of building capacity in new EU member States. The event was organised by five networks "“ CEMR, Climate Alliance, EnergyCities, EUROCITIES, and ICLEI.

For more information, read the networks' recently issued joint statement on the Energy Union Governance. more

» Publication Date: 20/06/2016

» Source: Iclei Europe

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