Dale Ross, mayor of the largest city in the United States powered entirely by renewable energy, was the keynote speaker at the ECR-hosted event at this year's European Week of Regions and Cities. The ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions invited the mayor of Georgetown, Texas to explain his commitment to wind and solar energy, and to exchange views with representatives of the European Commission, the oil and gas sector, and conservative local and regional politicians from Europe. 

Mr Ross argued that "as Conservatives what we need to remember is that we need the free market solutions to dictate the right decisions". According to Mr Ross, who like US President Donald Trump is a member of the Republican Party, "it is the facts that need to lead politicians to the right choices" and "at the end of the day, we need to understand that, on the city and regional or provincial level, local politicians are the ones that are responsible for delivering electricity that's both affordable and available".

Speakers underlined that the EU is responsible for less than 10% of global CO2 emissions and that therefore there is a continuous need to exchange views with partners from the other side of the Atlantic, including local and regional players.

Elena Višnar Malinovská, head of the Adaptation unit at the European Commission's Directorate General for Climate Action, noted that European leaders had reacted with regret to the decision of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change. That is because "Europe is fully committed to lowering emissions and proposing long term solutions for achieving global commitments". She also highlighted that local players play a crucial role in the clean energy transition through measures such as the decarbonisation of public transport.

In agreement was the deputy director of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers' office in Brussels, Christian Schwarck, who said that the fight against climate change is "a bottom-up exercise". He underlined that while oil and gas companies were increasingly investing in clean energy, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), "the transformation depends on local action". He said that local and regional government can, for instance, require that cement and steel used in public buildings has been produced with zero emissions.

ECR Group member Maurice Golden (Member of the Scottish Parliament and Conservative spokesperson on the Low-carbon economy) pointed to the fact that achieving the objectives of the Paris agreement will also depend on investments in the circular economy. "We need to build business models to keep goods circulating in our economy and design products that last", said Mr Golden.

The event was moderated by Cllr Linda Robinson (Leader of Wychavon District Council in the UK and ECR Group Deputy Coordinator in the CoR's Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy).