By virtue of this initiative, promoted by the European Commission in 2008 for fighting against the global warning, the cities promise to reduce their CO2 emissions beyond the reduction of 20% adopted by the European Union for 2020, according to the explanations of Ferran Tarradellas, Spokesperson of the Energy Commission.

Nowadays, 354 cities have already arranged with this agreement, including about 20 Spanish cities such as Madrid, Murcia, Málaga, Vitoria, San Sebastian, Santander, Valencia, Alicante, Tarragona and Pamplona, together with 60 municipalities of Barcelona and 77 of Huelva. Other Spanish cities, like Barcelona, Lleida, Jaén or Elche, “are interested in participate”, according to sources of the EU Executive.

More than 130 Majors confirmed their participation in the Major’s Agreement Ceremony which took place in the European Parliament on Tuesday, including the Major of Madrid, Alberto Ruíz Gallardon; Valencia, Rita Barberá; Vitoria, Patxi Lazcoz; San Sebastián, Odón Elorza; Huelva, María José Cortil; Málaga, Francisco de la Torre; Satander, Iñigo de la Serna and Murcia, Miguel Ángel Cámara.

By virtue of this agreement, the cities promise to develop in one year action plans for explaining the way that they are going to achieve the objectives with regard to the reduction of emissions. Besides, they promise to prepared periodic reports about the performance of these objectives. According to EU Executive sources, The EU Executive will supervise these action plans and if a city does not carry out it, it will be expel of the agreement, although there will be not fined.

Although most of the cities which take part in the agreement are member states of the EU, there are cities of other countries which have joined the “green agreement”, including Zagreb (Croatia), Oslo (Norway), Tuzla (Turkey) or Laussane (Switzerland). Other cities such as New York (USA), Buenos Aires (Argentina) or Christchurch (New Zealand) have also joined this agreement and they have promised to contribute with the performance of these objectives but without binding themselves directly, specified the sources.

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CITIES

Few days before the agreement signature, the Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, considered that “the agreement of the main cities of the European Union for reducing their CO2 emissions is a sample of the consensus which is emerging among the local powers for reducing pollution and achieving the energy efficiency.” He assured that “Europe needs to keep the leadership in the fight against the global warning and to continue reducing the energy consumption and its dependence on the energy importation.”

Because of that, he underlined that the Sustainable Energy Week offers “an opportunity” to local political leaders, industries and NGOs which work in the sustainable energy area for exchanging experience and finding “potential solutions” to warranty energy sustainable policies and promote the energy efficiency.

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WEEK 

More than 6,000 people, including representatives of governments, companies and NGOs, took part in the 3rd edition of the Sustainable Energy Week which offered twice as much as events of its last edition.

Piebalgs stated the main points of the work program of the European Commission for promoting a sustainable energy policy for the next years during the opening conference of the Sustainable Energy Week, which was celebrated last Monday 9th of February in the headquarters of the EU Executive.

Another of the outstanding events of that week was the giving ceremony of the Sustainable Energy Awards 2009 which was held on Tuesday in the Albert Hall in Brussels.

The Foreign Affairs Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, participated in a Conference about the Plataforma Mediterránea Solar on Friday in Brussels. This platform tries to promote decentralized sun energy projects from agreements between industry, international organizations and governments within the initiative Union for the Mediterranean which was approved last year by the European Union for relaunching the relations between the EU and the countries of the south shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

Source: Europe Press