Budapest representative asks access to finance for cities to implement the Paris climate agreement

Last Tuesday 16 February Budapest's 12 district government councilor, Kata Tűttö, called for adjusted finance mechanisms for cities to implement the Paris agreement during a European Parliament conference together with European Commission Director General for Energy, Dominique Ristori and former French Minister Jean-Louis Borloo.

During a conference on the steps needed to implement the Paris agreement on climate at the European Parliament, Kata Tűttö, Representative of Budapest's District 12 local government and member of the European Committee of the Regions (HU/PES) stressed the lack of access to finance for regions and cities to implement projects leading to carbon footprint cuts.

"In the fight against global warming, we all face the same problems, but local contexts differ greatly in economic, social and legal terms. Municipalities in Europe, in particular small towns and medium-size cities require adjusted and innovative mechanisms to develop bankable projects in energy efficiency, renewables and clean transport. Through no other way can Europe meet its commitments on climate and honour the pledges of the Paris agreement. It is now time for action on the ground', declared Kata Tűttö.

Regions and cities are responsible for the implementation of about 70% of all measures to tackle global warming, according to the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the Assembly of local and regional authorities of the European Union.

The debate was organized by the “Long Term Investment and Reindustrialisation  Intergroup, an institutional forum lead by members of the European Parliament. It gathers parliamentarians, representatives of financial institutions and other key stakeholders with the objective of defining Europe's financing needs, identifying barriers and more conducive regulatory frameworks for long term investments in key sectors such as energy.

Guests' speakers also included European Commission Director General for Energy, Dominique Ristori, former French Minister Jean-Louis Borloo, Economist Michel Aglietta and Benjamin Quatre, Director at the French Banking Federation who confirmed that “the best way to fight against climate change is through tailored market financing .

Katta Tűttö is playing an active role in defending more resources for cities and regions to move forward the climate agenda. She represented the Committee of the Regions during the climate negotiations in Paris and led CoR's opinion on the Future of the Covenant of Mayors , an EU initiative gathering cities that commit to Europe's energy and climate objectives.

Next main stop on the climate agenda will be Marrakech COP22 in November. The key question will be whether nations worldwide are developing the appropriate tools to implement the Paris agreement on the ground.