ECR Group in the CoR members Daiva Matonienė, Ilpo Haalisto and Paweł Grzybowski were in attendance for the session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

With the European Committee of the Regions playing a valuable role in the COP 22 discussions as an observer through the EU UN delegation, ECR members had the chance to participate in a variety of events and summits during the Marrakesh conference in November 2016.

Following the successful COP 21 in Paris in 2015 which saw important progress made to tackling climate change, the follow-up conference focused on implementing actions to help achieve the priorities of the Paris Agreement, in relation to significant areas like transparency, adaptation and mitigation. By hosting the event in the Moroccan capital, the hope was for the forum to help move the Mediterranean region towards a common climate change agenda.

One of the events included a meeting of the CoR Commission for Sustainable Development of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM), which discussed two reports by CoR rapporteurs; one on cross-border cooperation in the Mediterranean region, and another on energy and climate change in the Mediterranean region.

ECR member Paweł Grzybowski, Mayor of Rypin, said: "Cities and regions have a great potential in operationalising the Paris Agreement and leading on action to protect our climate. By the CoR coordinating with organisations like the UNFCCC and encouraging Member States to work together on a regional basis, we can create a coordinated approach to slowing down climate change."

"In order to do so we need bottom-up initiatives, using innovative technologies and respecting local economies. To give you one positive example, in the city of Rypin we recently modernised our heating system.

Using cogeneration brought about many benefits to our community such as improving air quality, ensuring security of supply and decreasing the need to buy emission allowances."

ARLEM members also had the opportunity to present the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM), in partnership with the European Commission and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), as the largest urban global movement aiming at a transition towards low carbon and climate resilient territories. Now fully operational in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and in the Southern part of the Mediterranean, the CoM aims to raise awareness amongst local mayors, councillors and other local representatives of the challenges of climate change and energy transition. Other events organised by ARLEM saw a meeting on 'Defining a new global climate governance', a meeting between the EU delegation at COP 22 and regions and cities to foster dialogue between the two parties and enhance the inclusiveness of the UNFCCC.

ARLEM brings together elected representatives of local and regional authorities from the European Union and its Mediterranean partners to provide a platform to promote local democracy, multi-level governance and decentralised cooperation.