Climate Change: the Regional Scale Matters Mathieu Perrin, André Torre
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Climate change: the regional scale matters Mathieu Perrin, André Torre To cite this version: Mathieu Perrin, André Torre. Climate change: the regional scale matters. European Week of Re- gions and Cities 2016, European Week of Regions and Cities., Oct 2016, Bruxelles, Belgium. 149 p., 10.2863/066043. hal-01603006 HAL Id: hal-01603006 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01603006 Submitted on 3 Jun 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike| 4.0 International License European Week of Regions and Cities 2016 Proceedings Cat. Number: QG-06-16-061-EN-N ISBN 978-92-895-0904-6 doi:10.2863/066043 Published in December 2016 Edited by the Committee of the Regions and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission © European Union, 2016 Sustaine d an d s us ta in ab le e c o n o m i c g r o w t h I I n c l u s i v e e c o n o m i c g r o w t h I M a k i n g E S I F u n d r e s l s p i m Table of contents Organisers and partners ................................................................................................................... 5 Editorial ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Partner regions and cities .................................................................................................. 8 Regional partnerships .......................................................................................................12 Opening session ................................................................................................................................15 Workshops reports Sustained and sustainable economic growth ..........................................................19 Inclusive economic growth .............................................................................................71 Making European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds simpler ....................89 University workshops ................................................................................................................... 103 Master Class ...................................................................................................................................... 113 Investors' Café ................................................................................................................................. 117 Regiostars Awards .......................................................................................................................... 121 Networking ....................................................................................................................................... 125 Sustainable urban development: Exploring and networking ........................................129 Local events ...................................................................................................................................... 133 Media analysis ................................................................................................................................. 137 Evaluation ........................................................................................................................................ 145 The European Week of Regions and Cities in 2017 ........................................................... 149 Thank you to our partners ..........................................................................................................153 Organisers and partners Editorial As in previous years, this Week was primarily dedicated to supporting the efforts of European regions and cities in translating EU investments into excellence, growth, jobs and quality of life. Exchanges focused on 'Regions and Cities for sustainable and inclusive growth', touching upon new opportunities linked to innovation, with special reference to energy efficiency and circular economy, labour market and social inclusion policies at local level, including the integration of migrants, as well as exchanges on simplifying the implementation of ESIF programmes and enhancing administrative capacity. A mixture of feedback from the ground, presentations of innovative working methods and discussions centred on the conclusions of the High Level Group on Simplification for Beneficiaries of the ESI Funds allowed us to identify common challenges and discuss solutions that can have a real impact in reducing administrative burden, removing bottlenecks and putting the focus on achieving results. In keeping with last year's OPEN URBAN DAY, we joined forces with the European Committee of the Regions and the Brussels Capital Region to allow the broad urban practitioner community to attend workshops and project visits on sustainable urban development. The timing is important as, after the Pact of Amsterdam, it is important to sustain momentum for implementing the Urban 6 Agenda for the EU, which is one of the top priorities of my work as Commissioner. I really believe that by working more with cities and focusing more on urban matters we can significantly improve the daily lives of millions of people. As always, a major part of the workshops focused on academic/policy-relevant research as part of the University initiative, which included a masterclass for PhD students aimed at improving understanding of EU cohesion policy and its research potential. The European Week of Regions and Cities once again proved to be an incomparable opportunity to exchange data, project results, experiences and best practices for programme implementation, as well as to establish new contacts for partnerships and projects. There is so much we can learn from each other. However, the aim is not just to replicate experiences but to give cities and regions the means to exchange, learn and develop their own ways to boost innovation, growth, jobs and quality of life. I would like to thank all those that contributed to the success of this event and, in particular, Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions, and his staff for the excellent cooperation throughout these years and for agreeing to be involved in organising the 2017 edition. Corina Creţu, European Commissioner for Regional Policy 14th European Week of Regions and Cities – Proceedings Editorial The 14th European Week of Regions and Cities once again showed the value of listening to messages from around Europe and speeding up the process of making Europe work. Entitled ‘Regions and cities for sustainable and inclusive growth’, this year's edition gathered over 5000 participants at more than 130 events. These events were organised with our partners at the European Commission and 22 selected regional partnerships. These thousands of people came here to find ways to improve the investment and delivery of EU funds. This must continue to be the EU's main investment policy in the future, in order to support growth, job creation, sustainable development and innovation. The RegioStars Award – organised by our friends at the European Commission – showcased many examples of how innovative approaches to what EU investment can deliver and make a difference to our communities. Nevertheless, during the opening debate it was evident that we need a reformed, stronger and more innovative Cohesion Policy that is fit for purpose. With a 15% drop in European investment levels over the last decade, there is growing uncertainty. Honesty led the debate and it is clear we need to consider how best to utilise every source of financing to bridge the gap in investment: Cohesion Policy and public funds are not enough. We need to attract more private investment. The European Commission's Investment Plan for Europe – which is expected to trigger €500bn – done right, can drive our economy and create a more cohesive Europe. However, the different financing resources must be complementary to ensure that every region and city benefits and 7 delivers for its citizens. Europe needs a change in mind-set geared towards empowering ecosystems, creating pioneering regions and cities and continual collaboration. Today Europe is at a crossroads. As local and regional politicians, we know that Europe is facing a reality check. In addition to identifying and resolving the problems of investment, our heated plenary debate set the Committee on course to contribute to discussions on the sort of Europe we want. As well as launching a series of Citizens' Dialogues with and in our cities and regions, future Committee Presidents will deliver a State of the European Union's Territories address from 2017 onwards. With better support from all levels of EU governance, more sharing of good practices and mutual learning, we can overcome the challenges. By working in partnership with the other EU institutions, with our members and with citizens we can find shared answers to shared problems. The European Week of Regions and Cities is an ideal setting for innovative learning. The ingredients of listening, sharing