The European Union's (EU) political mandate for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen will now include a reference to the role local authorities will play. European Union (EU) heads of state have reached a political agreement on the responsibility that local authorities will play in implementing mitigation and adaptation actions. Co-chairs of Eurocities' working group on climate change and energy, Ronan Dantec and Klaus Bondam, will now advocate for the interests of local authorities during the official negotiations in Copenhagen. ‘Until today, local authorities were not officially seen as a strong partner in the fight against climate change. We are satisfied that member states have reached a political agreement, which recognises that cities can make a difference. Global challenges require local actions. We are ready to show how,' the pair said in a statement.
