Renew Europe CoR’s Vincent Chauvet is representing the European Committee of the Regions at COP28, discussing issues around sustainable fashion, sport and recycling. 

Chauvet, Mayor of Autun in France and Renew Europe CoR coordinator in the Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy, travelled to Dubai as part of an official delegation to share experiences from local and regional authorities. 

Chauvet met with various political leaders such as European Commissioner for Climate Wopke Hoekstra as well as holding a bilateral meeting with the Romanian Minister for Environment, Water and Forestry Barna Tánczos.  

The latter came as part of meetings with national delegations from the EU to urge them to join the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) initiative and see to which degree they involved their Mayors in this year’s National Energy and Climate Plans. 

Speaking today at plenary of #COP28UAE    on behalf of Local Governments and Municipal Authorities on the last day of the first part of this historical #Cop28Dubai . Hope the final week will be productive in recognizing the role of cities and regions to fight climate change 🤞 pic.twitter.com/uQN7FnnHdJ

— Vincent Chauvet (@vincentchauvet) December 6, 2023

During the last two days of his presence, Chauvet launched a media push for institutionalising the role of subnational governments in the final COP28 text.  

“81% of French people trust local elected officials to act for climate and biodiversity, while being sceptical about the effectiveness of major international conferences,” said Chauvet.  

“This is why it is very important to bring international negotiations closer to the local decision-making level. It is also the only way to achieve a just, effective and rapid transition towards an exit from fossil fuels to limit global warming which has already started.” 

During the COP plenary session on 7 December, Chauvet took the floor to speak on behalf of local governments and municipality associations. 

You can rewatch his speech below.