1. Study Tour
on
Climate Change
LAF 44021
Venue :
Committee of the Regions
Bâtiment Jacques Delors Building
Rue Belliard 99-101
B - 1040 Brussels - Belgium
09 February - 11 February 2011
For more information on TAIEX assistance and to download
presentations of this event, please go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/taiex
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2. Aim of the meeting :
The aim of this study tour is to present the EU policy on climate change to local and
regional authorities coming from the Western Balkans. The fight against climate
change is an important challenge for the coming years and decades, also for the
Western Balkans. Cities and municipalities play a key role in this, especially in the
field of transport infrastructure, spatial planning and building policy.
Next to general information about the functioning and decision-making of the EU, this
study tour will also cover the EU policy on climate change, the reduction of green
house gas emissions and energy efficiency:
- Communication from the Commission: "Limiting Global Climate Change to 2 degrees
Celsius - The way ahead for 2020 and beyond"
- Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October
2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the
Community
- Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April
2009 on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to
meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020.
This study tour will be organised in cooperation with the Committee of the Regions
(CoR). The participants will have the opportunity to meet with members of the CoR
working on environment and on external relations. They will also be able to follow a
meeting of CIVEX (Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and
External Affairs).
A visit to an office representing a Member State's region in Brussels is also foreseen
in the programme. They will get information on how Molise region deals with climate
change and also how the region cooperates with other regions around the Adriatic.
Participants will also be introduced to the Covenant of Mayors by a representative of
Energy Cities, the network of cities inventing their energy future. This European
initiative is a commitment by signatory towns and cities to go beyond the objectives of
EU energy policy in terms of reduction in CO2 emissions through enhanced energy
efficiency and cleaner energy production and use. Today, 2200 Local Authorities have
signed up.
This part of the agenda will offer them the possibility to establish contacts with this
umbrella organisation and to exchange views and best practices with their counter
parts in Member States.
The group will also pay a visit to the office of Energy Cities, a European network of
Cities working on sustainable energy and will be introduced to the Covenant of
Mayors, an initiative of the European Commission dedicated to Local Authorities.
The target audience of 30-35 participants will consist of elected representatives and
senior administrative staff from municipalities (3 to 5 participants per beneficiary). The
participants will be selected by the EU Delegations / European Commission Liaison
Office.
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3. Day 1 : Wednesday 09 February 2011
Chair : - Mr Miguel Mares Garcés, President of ADLYPSE,
Valencia Region Local Development Association
09:00 Arrival and registration of participants
Distribution of welcome package
09:30 Welcome note: introduction to the LAF programme
Unit D2 - Institution Building, DG Enlargement, European Commission
09:45 Round of table/Ice-breaking: brief verbal presentation, accompanied
by materials if available, max. 3 minutes per participant:
• Self-introduction by participants
• Current situation and challenges in your municipality
10:30 Coffee break
11:15 The EU institutions and decision-making process
Dr Béla Béres, Legal Service, European Commission
12:00 Public Administration Reform (PAR)
Mr Mose Apelblat, PAR coordinator, DG Enlargement, European
Commission
12:45 Lunch break
13:45 EU policy in the field of climate change
DG Climate Action, European Commission
14:30 The role of cities in climate change mitigation
Mr Pedro Ballesteros Torres, Unit C3 Energy Efficiency & Intelligent
Energy, DG Energy, European Commission
15:15 Questions & Answers
15:30 Coffee break
16:00 European Commission's support to the participation of Eastern
Partnership and Central Asian Cities in the Covenant of Mayors
Mr Eduardo Ereño, Unit A3 Centralised operations for Europe, the
Mediterranean and Middle-East, DG EuropeAid Development and Co-
operation, European Commission
16:45 Reduction of green house gas emissions and emission trading
schemes
DG Climate Action, European Commission
17:30 Questions & Answers
17:45 Closing of Day 1
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4. Day 2 : Thursday 10 February 2011
Chair : -
10:00 Visit to the Committee of the Regions
• Work and functioning of the Committee of the Regions
• The CoR's work in the field of environment and climate change
• Activities of the CoR with the Western Balkans
11:00 Meeting with members of the CoR's CIVEX commissions
13:00 Lunch break
th
15:00 Possibility to follow the 7 meeting of the CIVEX Commission
(Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External
Affairs)
18:00 Closing of the CIVEX-meeting and Day 2
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5. Day 3 : Friday 11 February 2011
Chair : - Ms Julie Chavez, DG Enlargement
09:30 The Covenant of Mayors: How local authorities support the EU
Energy and Climate Objectives
Energy Cities
Square de Meeûs 1, 1000 Brussels
12:00 Lunch break including meetings with DG Enlargement geographical
units
14:15 Visit to a regional office: Molise, Italy (rue de Toulouse 47)
Dr Michele Petracca, Head of Support and Liaison Office for
Community Relations
• Air quality and climate change in Molise region, L'Agenzia
Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale del Molise
Presentation and institutional role of the Agency for Environmental
Protection of Molise Region and Italian agency system
Dr Luigi Petracca, General Director
Energy, polluting items and climate change driven factors: the
mitigation proposals and energy policy of Molise Region
Ms Vera Ianiro, Policy Officer
• Cross-border cooperation in the Adriatic: the experience of the
Adriatic Euroregion and the role of the Molise Region
Mr Francesco Cocco, Adviser for International Relations, Molise
Region
•
Coffee break around 15:30
17:00 Feedback and closing session of the event
This meeting is being organised by the
Technical Assistance Information Exchange Instrument
of the European Commission
CHAR 03/149 , B - 1049 Brussels
Telephone: +32-2-296 73 07 , Fax: +32-2-296 76 94
Web site http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/taiex
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