On 15 March, the Flemish Government will organise a conference on “Translating the EU green deal into local actions” under the auspice of the Belgian EU Council presidency, which will bring together 550 local government leaders and representatives in Brussels to co-create a path towards a climate-neutral, inclusive society.

The conference aims to provide a stage to Mayors and local leaders to highlight the way forward for the implementation of the EU Green Deal during the next EU mandate.

As part of the conference, ICLEI will support the programme by faciliating an in-depth session on “Local Green Deals: resource efficient, resilient, low-carbon and socially responsible” at 14:30-16:00 CET in Brussels, Belgium. In this in-depth session, we will focus on urban areas as cradles of economic development, territorial innovation, circularity, socio-economic transformation and centres for education and re-skilling. To harness this potential, local and regional governments need to work closely with Europe’s industry and SMEs for upskilling and re-skilling to accelerate the transition. Through practical examples, the session will aim to enable this closer cooperation by presenting and  discussing:

• New ways of political leadership to translate the EU Green Deal into local action, and available support
• Practical examples for implementing locally-tailored circular systemic solutions and testing new resource efficient, circular business and
  governance models
• Strengthening stakeholder engagement and innovative practices to co-develop solutions

About the conference:

Under the Belgian Presidency, the government of Flanders is gathering 550 mayors ‘Fit for 55’ - as well as high-level political representatives from all levels of government - to highlight the way forward for EU Green Deal’s supportive initiatives for local governments, based on practical experiences. The conference will aim to cocreate a new EU-multi-level governance initiative and framework that mobilises and empowers local governments and their communities to become independent from fossil fuels, reaching climate neutrality and resilience on an EU scale, while leaving no one behind and supporting our local economies in the transition era.

At the conference, the Committee of the Regions will formally hand over the Declaration of European local and regional leaders to Alexander De Croo (Prime Minister of Belgium).