Tbilisi hosting climate-themed conference of EU Eastern Partnership’s Covenant of Mayors
Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze noted his city had been the first among capitals of Eastern Partnership countries to join the Covenant of Mayors in 2010, adding his office was in “active work” to increase natural sources of emission absorption. Photo: Covenant of Mayors press office.
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Georgia’s capital Tbilisi is hosting the anniversary 10th edition of the conference of the Covenant of Mayors East, a European Union-funded project working to introduce the bloc’s climate and energy initiatives to its Eastern Partnership states.
Over 150 representatives, including local and national authorities, associations of local officials, and other stakeholders are convening in the city between Tuesday and Wednesday for the event, with officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, along with EU member state and institution representatives and international organisations involved.
Organisers said the event offered opportunities for discussing the “main bottlenecks and barriers encountered by the signatory cities, providing effective recipes for success, outlining the future of the initiative and EU support to EaP municipalities in the perspective of the Green Deal and other European initiatives”.
Workshops on the second day of the event are scheduled to enable a dialogue between local, national and EU representatives on examples of demonstration projects and climate policy objectives, project’s press office said on Tuesday.
“I am very happy to see that the Covenant of Mayors initiative in the Eastern Partnership is ready to deliver on the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The ambition to cut emissions by 35% by 2030 demonstrates that your municipalities are truly stepping up to this challenge. With over 460 signatories, the Eastern Partnership region is a frontrunner and a great example for local authorities around the globe,” Lawrence Meredith, director for neighbourhood east and institution building from the directorate-general for neighbourhood and enlargement negotiations at the European Commission, said.
Speakers are expected to present the progress achieved by the Covenant and its signatories, reaffirming the EU’s “strong political will” to support Eastern Partnership authorities in designing and implementing sustainable policies. photo: Covenant of Mayors event organisers.
Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze noted his city had been the first among capitals of Eastern Partnership countries to join the Covenant of Mayors in 2010, adding his office was in “active work” to increase natural sources of emission absorption.
He also highlighted the most important projects implemented in the capital of Georgia with the support of international donors, which he said had “significant impact” on the daily life of the capital's population.