In its 142nd plenary meeting, which took place from 3-5 February, members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) – the EU’s assembly of local and regional elected representatives and a key ICLEI partner – adopted an opinion on the 8th Environment Action Programme (EAP).

This so-called 8th EAP is a proposal that was presented by the European Commission in October 2020, and is to be adopted this year. It seeks to guide European environmental policy through to 2030.

The CoR opinion, presented by the Mayor of Kallithea (Greece), was developed through a series of consultations with key stakeholders including ICLEI Europe. It calls for adequate resources and frameworks for local and regional authorities, to enable effective implementation of more ambitious environment policies on the ground.

Responding to the challenging times posed by a global health crisis, combined with increasingly severe environmental challenges, the Mayor stressed the pivotal role of the EAP in tackling these challenges in a post COVID-19 era. He stated, “the 8th EAP must develop an integrated framework to equip local and regional authorities with the right tools, in line with the COVID-19 green recovery strategy.”

In the opinion, CoR members pointed out that traditional, sectoral environmental policy is largely ineffective, and call on the new EAP to promote a more sustainable business environment with green investments as the basis to reach a pollution-free environment and more resilient communities.

The 8th EAP seeks to guide European environmental policy until 2030, and follows from a legacy of such programmes with the first EAP dating back to the mid-'70s. It will, alongside other programmes, form the basis for the EU to achieve the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, and will complement and build on the European Green Deal by defining six priority objectives. These span: achieving the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target and climate neutrality by 2050; enhancing adaptive capacity; strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change; advancing towards a sustainable growth model and accelerating the transition to a circular economy; pursuing a zero-pollution ambition; protecting, preserving and restoring biodiversity; and enhancing natural capital, reducing environmental and climate pressures related to production and consumption.

A full interview with the Mayor Kallithea can be found here.

More information on the opinion and the CoR plenary is available here, and further details on the EAP can be read here.