A network of European Regions collaborating to tackle climate change, the proposal of decarbonizing two big Apulian factories, the assessment of social and environmental impacts of climate change. Sardinia, Apulia and Lazio key players in an international meeting at COP21 in Paris.

Paris – In the challenge to address climate change, regions play an essential role in addition to the decisions taken by national governments and international organizations.
Towards a memorable climate deal to be expected for the end of COP21 in Paris, where delegations of 170 countries are working to plan actions to limit global warming, Italian Regions have been the protagonists at the UN international meeting. During the event the importance and the key role of territorial government was reaffirmed in order to implement regional strategies of adaptation to climate change while taking into consideration the development and security for current and future generations, for the environment and for socio-economic systems.

Organized by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change – CMCC in collaboration with the Italian Society for Climate Sciences – SISC and the Basque Centre for Climate Change – BC3, the event Regions and Climate Change: a major challenge for local communities brought to the attention of the international community the need of integrating governance expertise at the global, national and regional level. The focus of the meeting was the Italian Interregional Coordination Board on Adaptation Strategy promoted with the purpose of fostering and monitoring the implementation of regional strategies and plans consistently with the national strategy (SNAC – National Strategy of Adjustment to the Climate Change).

Francesco Pigliaru, President of Sardinia Region, highlighted the importance of the involvement of regions in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP21-CMP11 in Paris. “The initiatives to address climate change can’t work without territories, because these are the actors who make the essential actions. Being at COP is a unique opportunity to share experience and knowledge without that we risk to go slower in the fight to climate change”.

The analysis and evaluation of the different sectors affected by the impacts of a changing climate were the focus of the speech of Riccardo Valentini, PD Group leader for Lazio Region. “It’s not only an energy issue – Valentini explained – we must to take into account the environmental and human capital while considering how climate change interacts with environmental, economic and social systems”.

“The Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change gave us a great opportunity – Michele Emiliano, President of Apulia Region, said – to talk about our proposal to decarbonize the Apulia Region. We seized the opportunity of the great infrastructural work that is TAP pipeline to propose to the Italian government of fueling the electric plant in Cerano and the Ilva factory in Taranto with gas”.

The Environnment Minister of the Basque Country, Mrs. Ana  Oregi explained that the Basque Government has just adopted the Basque Climate Change Strategy –2050 and are now addressing the firm challenge of implementing this strategy in all the policies of the Basque administration, stakeholders and society. Mrs Oregi stated that they are working on the areas of energy (energy efficiency and renewable), sustainable transport (mainly electrification of transport system), land use policy and technological innovation. On the top of that, she highlighted that the Basque Government has committed with the Compact of States and Regions. “An initiative that could be the seed of more formal structure to integrate state and regions in the UNFCCC process”, in the words of Dr. Galarraga.

The participants involved in the event, which was held on Thursday December 10, 2015, at 3:00-4:30 p.m. (Observer Room 12, Paris) at COP21 in Paris, the international UNFCCC conference on climate change, were:

Gian Luca GALLETTI (Italian Minister of Environment, Land and Sea); Francesco PIGLIARU (President of Sardinia Region); Riccardo VALENTINI (PD Group leader for Lazio Region); Michele EMILIANO (President of Apulia Region); Hans BRUYNINCKX (Executive Director, EEA); Ana OREGI (Minister for the Environment and Land Use, Basque Government); Ken ALEX (Governor’s Senior Advisor and Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, State of California); Antonio NAVARRA (CMCC President); Carlo CARRARO (IPCC Vice Chair WG III); Donatella SPANO (Italian Society for Climate Sciences (SISC) President, CMCC, Coordinator of the Italian SNAC Regional); Ibon GALARRAGA (BC3).