It’s not the scale of the Glasgow gathering, but the ambition remains. Four months after COP26, which was held in the Scottish city, a new climate summit opens on Monday, March 7, in Nantes, for two days. Organized at the initiative of the association Climate Chance, it will include positions taken by members of the government, the Commission and the European Parliament.
A long uncertain summit, finally maintained
Climate Chance was born in the wake of the Climates and Territories summit in Lyon, itself held ahead of COP21, in 2015. The association prides itself on being the only one to bring together a diversity of non-state actors (local authorities , companies, NGOs, trade unions, scientific community…) while being recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The project being the emergence of common priorities and proposals.
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The very holding of the summit was the subject of discussions completed only a few days ago, the health crisis leaving uncertainty to hover until the end. In the meantime, the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine and its intensity forced the organizers to adjust their programme. The mayor of Warsaw and a Romanian senator are expected to speak. The participants will adopt, at 11:30 a.m., a “joint declaration”to which elected officials from the municipalities and the Loire-Atlantique department are invited.
Local elected officials highlighted
The gathering honors elected officials from cities, where the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions are concentrated. Hence, we plead to Climate Chance, the need to put their councilors in networks for a sharing of solutions, in order to achieve the ambitious objective enacted by the “Fit for 55”, i.e. the reduction, by compared to 1990 and by 2030, 55% of net greenhouse gas emissions. An important step before carbon neutrality, envisaged for 2050.
While the organizers are expecting a thousand participants, some 200 to 300 speakers are expected around a good thirty round tables, including experts from ” high level “ : a terminology in vogue on the side of the States and which reminds us that the event was built « and synergy » with the French presidency of the European Union. Alongside Jean Jouzel, the former president of the Giec (intergovernmental group of experts on climate change), or Alok Sharma, the president of COP26, we will find the Egyptian and Indonesian environment ministers… Not necessarily French: Barbara Pompili, announced for Monday, could only speak at a round table by video, from Paris.
Same strategy for peace and climate
The summit does not exclude any of the major items of the energy transition: transport, town planning, food, circular economy, digital footprint… The environmentalist senator and president of Climate Chance, Ronan Dantec, expects the summit to accelerate towards energy transition and autonomy of Europe with the development of renewable energies, considering, with our colleagues from West Francewhat “the strategy is identical to meet the challenges of peace and climate”not forgetting the extent to which the conflict in Eastern Europe infuses a special atmosphere at this summit.
Without losing sight of the imperative to maintain constant liaison between civil society and governments, after a COP26 which had disappointed by its results and eight months from COP27, scheduled for Egypt.