At the Summit, local governments offer national governments a partnership to limit global warming. Cooperation between the local and national level is a necessity if the agreement reached in Copenhagen in December 2009 is to be realised.
The COP13 in Bali in 2007 resulted in a roadmap that should lead to an agreement at the COP15 in Copenhagen in December 2009. The agreement in Copenhagen is to replace the Kyoto protocol as the aims of the Kyoto protocol must be fulfilled by 2012. The new agreement will commit the national governments in the battle against global warming.
Parallel to the UN Roadmap, the most influential local government organisations have come together to create a local government roadmap. The aim of the Local Government Roadmap is to influence the agreement that will replace the Kyoto-protocol.
The aims of the local roadmap will be realised through a mobilisation of local governments worldwide and ensure that the local level is heard when an agreement is to be negotiated in Copenhagen in December. If these goals are to be completed, it is important that the local authorities commit themselves to the battle against global warming.
The local governments' influence on the climate policy must be secured through a so-called chapter. A chapter is an official document that can be written directly into the agreement that is to be agreed on in Copenhagen in December 2009.
The message of the chapter will be that the national government must acknowledge the local governments' role in the battle against climate change.
Work for a sustainable future for the environment: Achieve more primary
energy requirements coming from renewable energy, such a biofuels.
Photo: European Commission