On 10-11 December, Member States in the European Council will decide on new 2030 climate targets for the EU. The decision of whether to move to a minimum 55 percent greenhouse gas emission reduction target will send a strong message internationally about Europe’s commitment to become the first continent to reach climate neutrality. Even more so, it will be an important signal and boost to the hundreds of local and regional governments and stakeholders in Europe who are mobilising to accelerate the transition towards socially, economically and environmentally sustainable local recovery.

The importance and urgency of increasing reduction target ambition was voiced in a joint letter brought forward to EU leaders and Heads of States by a vast coalition of local public and private stakeholders, including ICLEI and Eurocities, asking to increase EU climate target ambitions to “avert the most dire future costs of climate change impacts” that are already being felt locally.

This call for upped ambition follows multiple occasions during which local governments have publicly demonstrated their readiness to step up their contributions and support for the EU Green Deal as a key tool for driving green recovery and transition. During ICLEI’s European Conference for Sustainable Cities & Towns in September (also known as “Mannheim2020”), more than 1500 participants from all EU countries came together to discuss local climate pacts and to present the Mannheim Message to the European Commission and the German EU Presidency, as a local response to the EU Green Deal, which included committing to implement Local Green Deals. These efforts were also reflected by Members of the European Committee of the Regions who not only formed not only a permanent working group on localising the Green Deal, but also a new partnership with the European Commission for that purpose. What’s more, numerous local governments have publicly declared climate emergencies, climate neutrality plans, and 100 percent renewable energy goals well before national and EU targets require it. And, ambition does not stop at the city level, but rather extends to supporting peers internationally, as has been shown by the 982 cities and regions (to date) who already joined the list of ICLEI Pioneers of Climate Ambition.

The message ICLEI Members and their peers sent during these and other occasions is clear: not only are cities responsible for around 70 percent of global emissions, but they are also first in line to tackle the consequences of more frequent extreme weather events like floods, storms or heat waves, which many local communities are experiencing today, and for which they are demanding ambitious and urgent responses from local decision-makers. Local governments are ready to create a sustainable future and to mobilise their citizens and local businesses to bring about a transition that increases resilience and welfare, while safeguarding the unique local characteristics and culture of European towns, cities and regions.

With regions and cities being responsible for implementation of over 70 percent of EU legislation, leveraging their contribution, perspective and support in the implementation of EU climate targets and the EU Green Deal – through closer multi-level cooperation and dialogue, and related investment, legislation and funding mechanisms – would allow Europe to unlock and distribute resources required to secure sustainable recovery, and far more effective and fair transition. Leveraging and aligning these efforts would furthermore allow local governments to better support the establishment of place-based climate pacts, Local Green Deals, local innovation and multi-stakeholder cooperation for a more rapid and ambitious place-based transition supported and driven by citizens.

For those reasons, ICLEI, together with its Members and partners, will continue to support defining more ambitious EU and international targets in the upcoming European Council meeting and at the Climate Conference in Glasgow in 2021, acknowledging the urgency and scale of action needed to tackle climate change. Furthermore, ICLEI as a network will continue to voice the need to design effective frameworks in support of those targets, together in dialogue with local stakeholders. An objective also finding support among Mayors from all of Europe, as suggested by ICLEI Regional Executive Committee Member and Mayor of Tirana (Albania), Erion Veliaj: "Tirana has emerged on an ambitious journey to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, climate change is a border-less threat, requiring collective action. As Albania's capital, a country aspiring to join the EU family, Tirana supports a 55% (or higher) emission reduction target".

For more information, read the joint letter here. Hear what ICLEI Members and partners have to say here.