Speaking to EurActiv on the margins of the climate summit taking
place in the Danish capital, Luc Van Brande, president of the
Committee of the Regions, an EU consultative body, said regions
needed a clear legal framework but also the financial tools to
act. His statement was echoed by Michele Sabban, president of
the Assembly of European Regions, during the Climate Leaders
Summit, a side event in Copenhagen organised by the Climate
Group with over 60 presidents and ministers from state and
regional governments. "It is up to the regions and the local
authorities to implement the commitments taken. For that to
happen, a multi-level partnership is needed," she said. Kyoto
Protocol signatories are already struggling to meet their target
of reducing greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to 1990 levels.
And with emissions in 2007 at 11% above 1990 levels, the risk is
high that it will be not met, said regional leaders. New types
of policies, partnerships and instruments that dramatically
scale up present efforts will