Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Boosting climate actions by non-state actors’ (exploratory opinion at the request of the European Commission)
Date: 2018-02-15
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, adaptation to climate change, climate change, environmental cooperation, environmental protection, green economy, greenhouse gas, international cooperation, reduction of gas emissions, sustainable development








C_2018227EN.01003501.xml










28.6.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 227/35





Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Boosting climate actions by non-state actors’
(exploratory opinion at the request of the European Commission)
(2018/C 227/05)






Rapporteur:



Mindaugas MACIULEVIČIUS





Co-rapporteur:



Josep PUXEU ROCAMORA











Consultation


European Commission, 28.11.2017




Legal basis


Article 304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union




Date of Bureau decision


4.7.2017




Section responsible


Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment




Adopted in section


6.2.2018




Date of adoption in plenary


15.2.2018




Plenary session No


532




Outcome of vote
(for/against/abstentions)


192/1/2




1.   Conclusions and recommendations









1.1.


The shift towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy has been driven to a great extent by bottom-up initiatives led by citizens, innovative businesses and various civil society stakeholders, collectively referred to as non-state and sub-national actors.












1.2.


These actors can make vital contributions to speeding up both low-carbon development and sustainable development. Immediate non-state action lowers the cost of the low-carbon transition and also alleviates the immediate impact of climate change that is already taking place.












1.3.


In recent years, the number, scope and scale of non-state climate actions has grown rapidly (1). However, non-state actors still encounter formidable obstacles that make it difficult for them to initiate and implement their climate actions successfully.












1.4.


Moreover, there is growing diversity among non-state actors and their climate actions, as they operate in and across various environments featuring particular needs and resources. Properly analysing and understanding this diversity is a precondition for achieving the acceleration of climate action.












1.5.


In recognition of the great potential of non-state actors to drive global efforts to abate climate change and adapt to its consequences, the EESC calls for a ‘European Dialogue on Non-State Climate Action’ (ED-NSCA) to strengthen and increase the scope and scale of European-based non-state climate action.












1.6.


The EESC’s proposed European Dialogue should provide an overview of climate actions within the EU and help track the progress of climate actions at a global level.












1.7.


The EESC stresses that recognising and highlighting effective, innovative, and creative climate actions can be a cost effective means of incentivising new actions and encouraging ongoing ones. The recognition of climate actions can be achieved via an online platform, high-level events and/or awarding prizes.












1.8.


A European Dialogue for climate action should collect feedback on an ongoing basis and address regulatory challenges with public authorities, in order to progressively build an enabling governance environment for bottom-up climate action. The dialogue should build upon other similar initiatives, such as the European Energy Dialogue called for by the EESC and established to coordinate implementation of the energy transition.












1.9.


The ultimate goal of the proposed dialogue is to accelerate climate actions by making it attractive for a multiplicity of non-state actors to engage in climate actions, and to make climate action the new ‘business-as-usual’.












1.10.


The EESC stresses that in our race to reduce emissions, protect the climate and promote social and economic justice, a social dialogue must be established for a just and rapid transition to a zero carbon and zero poverty world.












1.11.


The EESC proposes that the purpose of the dialogue should be not only to highlight and showcase actions, but also to respond to the needs of non-state actors by inspiring new partnerships among state and non-state actors; facilitating peer learning, training and advice sharing among non-state actors; and facilitating access to finance.












1.12.


The proposed European Dialogue would operate in a wider ecosystem of post-Paris climate governance. The organisation of the dialogue should be ‘light-touch’, prioritising the strategic linking of existing programmes, initiatives and institutions, rather than setting up new institutions. In this context, the EESC supports the proposal by the European Parliament to create national ‘Multilevel Climate and Energy Dialogue Platforms’.












1.13.


The EESC will play a leading role in initiating the dialogue and calls on the other EU Institutions, in particular the European Commission to join this effort to create an enabling environment for non-state climate action by cooperating in helping to operationalise the dialogue.












1.14.


The first step for the European Dialogue for Non-State Climate Action should be an event in the first half of 2018, gathering all interested networks of actors as well as representatives of other EU Institutions and the Member States, organised in the spirit of the Talanoa (2) dialogue and serving to establish a clear Action Plan for the Dialogue.












1.15.


Through such a dialogue, the EESC expects to significantly empower all non-state actors — businesses, including SMEs, social enterprises and cooperatives, civil society groups, communities, as well as local and regional authorities and other relevant stakeholders, so that they can make a real and tangible contribution to addressing climate change.




2.   Background to the opinion









2.1.


This is an exploratory opinion requested by the European Commission.












2.2.


This opinion builds on the opinion on the ‘Coalition to deliver commitments of the Paris Agreement’ adopted in July 2016 and on the proceedings of the subsequent conference on ‘Designing a framework for bottom-up climate action’, which served to exchange best practices and identify challenges that slow down non-state efforts to abate climate change.












2.3.


The shift towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy has been driven by bottom-up initiatives led by citizens, local authorities, consumers and innovative enterprises. However, their further progress is often hampered by administrative and regulatory barriers, lack of appropriate consultation mechanisms and inappropriate financial procedures.




3.   The urgency of non-state climate action









3.1.


The term ‘non-state actors’ refers to actors that are not Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This broad understanding includes various types of business, including small, medium-sized and micro-enterprises; investors; cooperatives; cities and regions; trade unions; communities and citizen groups; faith-based organisations; youth groups; and other non-governmental organisations. This opinion particularly brings attention to emerging bottom-up contributions by climate actors that are not yet fully recognised by the EU Institutions and Member States.












3.2.


Climate action by non-state actors is becoming increasingly urgent for at least four reasons:






—


greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere continue to rise, even when all governmental pledges are implemented, a gap of 11-13 gigatons (Gt) of CO2eq will remain (3). Short-term state and non-state climate action can help close this gap, and is crucial to prevent more radical and costly measures,










—


impacts of climate change that is already occurring are being felt around the world. These include an increasing number of extreme weather events, rising losses and damages and changing weather patterns, and also catalyse the displacement and migration of vulnerable communities (4),










—


current political turbulence — for instance in the United States — and the scarcity of public resources endanger the full implementation of governmental pledges. Even a number of European countries that are fully committed to the Paris Agreement still fall short of the ambitions needed to limit global warming to well below 2 oC,










—


governments set the policy framework but actions are implemented on the ground by non-state and sub-national actors, many of whom are the true leaders of innovative and effective actions, in particular the smaller, emerging, bottom-up climate actors.
















3.3.


Non-state climate actors can make vital contributions to speeding up both low-carbon development and sustainable development. Immediate non-state action lowers the cost of the low-carbon transition and also alleviates the immediate impact of climate change that is already occurring. However, there is a general lack of recognition that bottom-up initiatives can help overcome the social problems linked to decarbonisation and the ecological transition.












3.4.


According to the EU-funded TESS project looking at the impact of ecovillage communities within Europe, if five percent of EU citizens were to engage in effective community-led climate mitigation initiatives, the carbon savings would be sufficient for the EU-28 countries to achieve nearly 85 % of their agreed 2020 emissions reduction targets (5).












3.5.


Non-state climate action can also strengthen overall climate governance. For instance:






—


non-state actions could inform more ambitious climate policies by demonstrating to governments that more ambitious climate targets are plausible,










—


non-state actions could help governments implement national-level policies and contribute to meeting national requirements under the EU’s nationally determined contribution (NDC),










—


non-state actors could help to detect opportunities to strengthen the regulatory environment (6).
















3.6.


Non-state action can also serve to demonstrate that the transition to a low-carbon, circular and climate-resilient economy is an opportunity for the EU to increase its competitiveness, benefitting the EU’s businesses. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to address not only climate challenges, but also sustainable development, in particular the implementation of the SDGs.












3.7.


In recent years the number, scope and scale of non-state climate actions has grown rapidly (7). However, non-state actors still encounter formidable obstacles that make it difficult for them to initiate and implement their climate actions successfully. (See EESC opinion: Coalition to deliver commitments of the Paris Agreement (8).)












3.8.


Moreover, there is growing diversity among non-state actors and their climate actions, as they operate in and across various environments featuring particular needs and resources. Properly analysing and understanding this diversity is a precondition for achieving the acceleration of climate action.




4.   The EU needs a strategic approach to facilitate non-state climate action









4.1.


The EU has been championing non-state action internationally:






—


The EU has been advocating multi-stakeholder International Cooperative Initiatives that address mitigation in the context of the UNFCCC.










—


The EU contributed to large multi-stakeholder climate initiatives (9).










—


Individual Member States have supported the international climate action agenda. For instance, France led large-scale mobilisation efforts on the road to the Paris Agreement. The Nordic countries and the Netherlands contributed to developing the Climate Initiatives Platform (currently hosted by UN Environment).










—


European-based actors are leading an estimated 54 % of UNFCCC-registered cooperative initiatives for climate action (10).
















4.2.


In stark contrast to its strong international leadership, the EU currently lacks a framework that creates an enabling environment that would help accelerate non-state climate actions inside Europe. Without such a framework the EU may be missing out on tangible contributions from frontrunners among non-state and sub-national actors. Current EU support for a few large-scale multi-stakeholder actions is not enough for the kind of transformation it has committed itself to under the Paris Agreement.












4.3.


Much more focus needs to be given to emerging, yet unrecognised, bottom-up climate actors who are currently under-represented in initiatives supported by the EU. Their potential contributions cannot be overstated. Building an enabling environment for such climate actions is an effective and low-cost way to leverage their enormous societal potential.












4.4.


Moreover, by shaping an enabling environment, current imbalances among non-state climate actions can be addressed. For instance:






—


micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, social enterprises (including cooperatives) are currently under-represented in EU-supported initiatives, as well as in the context of the UNFCCC (11),










—


climate actions by rural communities and smaller and medium-sized cities are under-represented compared to those undertaken by large metropolitan cities (12).
















4.5.


As current mobilisation efforts are mostly made at the level of international climate policies, focusing on particularly large and/or eye-catching examples, action is urgently needed at EU level to complement international efforts by activating and supporting more and different types of actors.












4.6.


In recognition of the great potential of non-state actors to drive global efforts to abate climate change and adapt to its consequences, this opinion proposes a ‘European Dialogue on Non-State Climate Action’ (ED-NSCA) to strengthen and increase the scope and scale of European-based non-state climate action.




5.   Priority areas for climate actions and examples and needs of actors on the ground









5.1.


Thematic priority areas should be determined in consultation with civil society.












5.2.


Close correspondence with thematic areas in the context of the UNFCCC, in particular the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, could ensure a strong linkage with the goals of the Paris Agreement.












5.3.


Priority areas could include: agriculture and food; forestry, land-use and a sustainable bio economy; coastal protection and development; water; cities and regions; transport; energy; and the circular economy and industry.












5.4.


Cross-cutting themes that could be addressed in the proposed dialogue include: climate and sustainable development trade-offs and synergies; the role of digitisation; participatory approaches; and a just transition.












5.5.


Social entrepreneurship, citizens’ initiatives and community work are only some examples of how climate action can be realised via bottom-up approaches. Many successful initiatives already exist, while many others were initiated but failed or were discontinued for various reasons. Both categories of projects can be used to provide valuable knowledge for both non-state actors and decision-makers.












5.5.1.


The case of decentralised renewable energy is an excellent example. It should take place via local or regional structures, meaning that value creation from using wind, solar and biomass energy would take place locally. However, the EU does not make sufficiently comprehensive use of civil society’s potential in this area and too often regulatory, financial and structural barriers exist to local actors’ engagement. In 2015 the EESC successfully called for a European Energy Dialogue led by civil society to be established to coordinate implementation of the energy transition (13) — itself the biggest single action on climate stabilisation to be undertaken by the EU.












5.5.2.


More than 1 000 local and regional governments from 86 countries, representing 804 million people, have reported their emissions reduction targets on the carbonn Climate Registry, which, once achieved, could result in a reduction of 5,6 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2020 and 26,8 GtCO2e by 2050, compared to levels going as far back as 1990. The aggregate impact of the 7 494 cities and local governments, representing over 680 million people, committed to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, could collectively cut 1,3 GtCO2e per year from business as usual in 2030, achieving a cumulative total of 15,64 GtCO2e between the years 2010 and 2030 (14).












5.5.3.


Community-supported agriculture in Europe has been growing in recent years. In 2016, more than six thousand broadly defined civil society initiatives in 22 European countries were producing food for 1 million people (15). Such initiatives range from partnerships between consumers and farmers to the creation of community gardens and farms. They establish closer links between producers and consumers, create opportunities for local businesses and new jobs, and reconnect communities with their food, thus changing the mechanisms of food production and consumption, and empowering citizens to deliver more participatory forms of governance.












5.5.4.


The just transition concept unites workers, communities, employers and governments in the context of the social dialogue with the purpose of establishing concrete plans, policies and necessary investments to ensure that the transformation is fast and fair. It focuses on jobs and livelihoods and aims to ensure that no one is left behind in our race to reduce emissions, protect the climate and promote social and economic justice. To guarantee and establish the social dialogue for a just transition, the International Trade Union Confederation and its partners have established a Just Transition Centre. The centre will gather and support unions, businesses, companies, communities and investors in the framework of the social dialogue to develop plans, agreements, investments and policies for a fast and fair transition to zero carbon and zero poverty.












5.5.5.


The implementation of energy, emissions and water saving practices are embodied in voluntary programmes and consumption reduction initiatives on the part of the industry. These business achievements are audited and frequently disclosed. Benchmarking among companies and countries can also be developed with these kinds of best practice.












5.6.


In order to understand the important diversity among non-state actors, their varied needs and resources, the EESC conducted a survey (16) which showed that among the most pressing needs, non-state actors list:






—


supportive policy/legislative environment,










—


financial needs: access to public funds and fiscal incentives,










—


technical support: to facilitate mutual learning, capacity-building, exchange of knowledge and good practices and to raise awareness,










—


wider credibility, visibility, understanding and recognition of their contributions,










—


improved collaboration among the various actors in the private and public sphere.








6.   Functions of the proposed European Dialogue on Non-State Climate Action









6.1.


In order to shape an environment that is conducive to non-state climate action, and to strengthen and increase the scope and scale of European-based action, the European Dialogue should be responsive to the policy and operational requirements of non-state actors, and should possibly address the following interconnected functions: (1) Assessing actions; (2) Recognising actions; (3) Improving governance; (4) Accelerating actions; and (5) Supporting actions (ARIAS)












6.2.



Assessing and tracking actions — The EU and its Member States benefit from a better understanding of the contributions of non-state climate actions. The proposed dialogue can provide an overview of climate actions within Europe and also help track the progress of climate actions at a global level in the context of the UNFCCC.
A better understanding of mitigation-related and other contributions is beneficial in multiple ways:






—


it can be a first step towards including non-state actions in the implementation of national and EU-level climate policies,










—


in-depth studies of particular climate actions can help in drawing up public policies and identifying regulatory obstacles, scalable solutions and the circumstances under which particular measures are effective,










—


it can generate practical knowledge for non-state actors to effectively engage in climate action.
















6.2.1.


The proposed framework should allow for the tracking of progress of at least some actions by non-state and sub-national actors, especially when they commit to quantifiable emissions reductions. This could take the form of aggregate assessments of European-based climate actions, as well as voluntary reporting mechanisms. Safeguards against ‘greenwashing’ (presenting ‘business-as-usual’ as clean and compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement) should be considered. However, at the very least it should prove that the initiatives are more than commitments on paper, without imposing heavy reporting and monitoring obligations on them. In the framework of monitoring and evaluation practices, a more qualitative, story-telling approach could possibly complement quantitative approaches, to demonstrate what it is possible to achieve.












6.3.


Currently, the bulk of climate actions in Europe are not or hardly recognised at the European level. The opportunity to recognise and highlight particularly effective, innovative, and creative climate actions, however, can be a cost-effective means of incentivising new actions and encouraging ongoing ones. The recognition of climate actions can take several forms, including:






—


the broad recognition of new and existing commitments through an online platform,










—


opening up possibilities for emerging climate actors to feature at (high-level) events, both at European level and in the context of international negotiations,










—


the awarding of prizes to particularly accomplished climate actions, for instance in specific thematic areas.
















6.4.



Improving and enhancing governance — frontrunners across non-state actor groups are likely to identify obstacles and opportunities to improve governance. Their insights can help identify regulatory obstacles at European, national, regional or local level and initiate their removal, as well as create an adapted regulatory framework conducive to climate action. A European Dialogue for Non-State Climate Action should collect feedback on an ongoing basis and address challenges with public authorities, in order to progressively build an enabling governance environment for bottom-up climate action. This will not happen without addressing the policy vacuum between non-state actors and decision-makers.












6.5.



Accelerating climate action — the ultimate goal of the proposed dialogue is to accelerate climate actions by making them attractive for a multiplicity of non-state actors, and to make climate action the new ‘business-as-usual’. In practical terms, this should imply the following:






—


a growing number of new non-state climate commitments. To help speed up initiatives, the dialogue — possibly in cooperation with the UNFCCC and other partners — should publicise new commitments,










—


rapid uptake of solutions and lessons learned emanating from non-state climate actions at European level. To aid this acceleration the dialogue could include the organisation of regional technical expert meetings, modelled on — and feeding into — similar meetings held in UNFCCC sessions,










—


the organising partners can occasionally also broker new partnerships and climate actions in particularly promising or urgent areas, using the dialogue process and their own convening power,










—


sometimes sectorial or territorial initiatives may compete among themselves if the right approach to promoting collaboration is not identified and fostered. A ‘birds eye’ view is needed to identify gaps and potential collaborations and to broker new partnership.
















6.6.



Support climate actions — the proposed dialogue should not only highlight and showcase actions, but also respond to the needs of non-state actors. Different types of support can be envisaged, including:






—


the provision of a network environment that is conducive to brokering new partnerships among state and non-state actors,










—


the facilitation of peer learning and advice sharing among non-state actors by helping them to overcome regulatory obstacles,










—


the provision of education and learning as well as stimulating innovation, e.g. through massive open online courses (MOOC), webinars and workshops on specific issues (17),










—


the facilitation of access to finance, for instance, through mapping existing channels; exploring innovative financing instruments (including peer-to-peer, crowd, and micro financing); proposing simplification of fiscal rules and the creation of new financing windows — e.g. to facilitate access to private, international and multilateral funds.








7.   Operationalising the proposed European Dialogue for Non-State Climate Action









7.1.


The proposed European Dialogue would operate in a wider ecosystem of post-Paris climate governance. Other regional and national action agendas and frameworks are emerging (for instance in Latin America and the USA). A European dialogue could benefit from collaborating with, and learning from, these platforms.












7.2.


The organisation of the dialogue should be ‘light-touch’, prioritising the strategic linking of existing programmes, initiatives and institutions, rather than setting up new institutions. The EESC will play a clear role in initiating the dialogue and seeking the support of and partnership with the European Commission as well as other EU Institutions. This institutional set-up would lend it credibility in addressing climate action at European level. In this context, the EESC supports the proposal by the European Parliament to create national ‘Multilevel Climate and Energy Dialogue Platforms’ for wide discussions in each Member State on the future of the country’s climate and energy policies.












7.3.


An online platform under the European Dialogue can act as a clearing house, recording and providing an overview of European-based climate actions, and can provide a comprehensive data repository that can support strategic analysis and feed into local, national and EU policies. To optimise the usability of the clearing house, the website should be accessible and searchable. Such a website could be connected to platforms that exist in the context of the UNFCCC, including the NAZCA platform (18).












7.4.


The proposed European Dialogue should initiate events to support recognition, feedback, learning and networking functions for non-state actors. Part of these events already exist, but would gain new relevance. For instance:






—


existing expert meetings of the EESC’s Sustainable Development Observatory could gain additional relevance by being connected to the UNFCCC process as ‘Technical Expert Meetings’ or thematic and regional dialogues to take stock of existing climate actions,










—


the European Day of Sustainable Communities — organised by ECOLISE in cooperation with the EESC — could draw attention to local communities and recognise their contributions to climate action,










—


annual events supported by the EU institutions (e.g. Green Week, EU Sustainable Energy Week, European Sustainable Development Week, etc.) could feature sessions devoted to non-state climate action.
















7.5.


The proposed dialogue could benefit from nominating sectoral or thematic ‘ambassadors for climate action’. Ambassadors could be tasked with brokering cooperation between multiple stakeholders; setting strategic/thematic priorities; convening events; and incentivising new climate actions. They can also act as focal points for non-state climate actions, e.g. vis-à-vis the European Commission, Member States and the UNFCCC.












7.6.


The proposed process should support access to finance for non-state actions. This could involve:






—


the mapping of funding opportunities,










—


advice on fundable plans,










—


analysing current dialogue and consultation procedures with non-state actors, with a view to establishing new techniques and best practices to enhance the use of existing European and international funds,










—


advocating for the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework of the EU to serve the higher climate ambitions of, and incentivise actions by, non-state actors,










—


the exploration of innovative funding (peer-to-peer, crowd, micro, green bonds, etc.).
















7.7.


To ensure credibility and a light-touch institutional framework, the following prospective contributors should be invited as organisational partners:






—


to support the ‘assessment’ function, the initiators of the dialogue should engage with existing research groups, climate action tracking initiatives and data platforms,










—


to support the ‘recognition’ function, cooperation with existing awarding initiatives should be sought, for instance UNFCCC’s Momentum for Change awards, and the SEED awards (19), EESC Civil Society Prize, etc.,










—


to support the ‘improving governance’ and ‘acceleration’ functions, communication channels should be established, for instance with facilitative dialogues and technical expert processes within the UNFCCC, as well as with relevant EU and Member State level processes such as the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils (EEAC),










—


for the support function, links with existing programmes should be established. For instance, access to financing and best practices can be coordinated with the EU LIFE programme, a funding instrument for environmental and climate action, EIB grant aid or loans and/or other European programmes, while the compilation of Horizon 2020 research findings relevant to non-state practitioners can be disseminated broadly among participants to the dialogue.
















7.8.


The first step for the European Dialogue for Non-State Climate Action should be an event in the first half of 2018, initiated by the EESC in partnership with the European Commission, gathering all interested networks of actors as well as representatives of other EU Institutions and the Member States.












7.8.1.


This event should contribute to the Talanoa dialogue ahead of the COP24 in the context of which Parties and non-Party stakeholders are invited to cooperate in convening local, national, regional or global events to prepare and make available relevant inputs on where we are, where do we want to go and how do we get there.












7.8.2.


The event should also serve to establish an Action Plan for the ED-NSCA for the period 2018-2020 in order to operationalise it, including a detailed plan for fulfilling the ARIAS function of the Dialogue.





Brussels, 15 February 2018.


The President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Georges DASSIS




(1)  Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2017, Marrakesh Partnership, UNFCCC 2017.

(2)  Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions which are for the collective good. The Talanoa dialogue to take stock of the collective efforts of Parties in relation to progress towards the long-term goal referred to in Article 4 of the Paris Agreement will start in 2018 and the online platform for inputs will be made available for this purpose.

(3)  The Emissions Gap Report 2017: A UN Environment Synthesis Report, UNEP 2017.

(4)  Council Conclusions: European climate diplomacy after COP21: Elements for continued climate diplomacy in 2016.

(5)  Towards European Societal Sustainability, http://www.tess-transition.eu/about/

(6)  For instance, through removing regulatory obstacles and/or through devising smart climate policies.

(7)  Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2017, Marrakesh Partnership, UNFCCC 2017.

(8)  OJ C 389, 21.10.2016, p. 20.

(9)  Prominent examples include: the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy; the Regional Covenant of Mayors; Mission Innovation; the Climate and Clean Air Coalition; the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative; InsuResilience; and, the NDC Partnership.

(10)  Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2017, Marrakesh Partnership, UNFCCC 2017.

(11)  Even though they represent more than 99 % of all enterprises in the EU, and about 58 % of economic output measured by gross value added, https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes_en

(12)  In the EU, approximately 35 % of the population live in intermediate urban-rural areas, and more than 22 % live in predominantly rural areas. (Eurostat (2014) Eurostat Regional Yearbook 2014. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-statistical-books/-/KS-HA-14-001, retrieved 16 January 2018.)

(13)  EESC opinion The development of the governance system proposed in the context of the 2030 climate and energy framework (OJ C 291, 4.9.2015, p. 8).

(14)  https://www.cities-and-regions.org/lgma-at-the-apa-resumption/

(15)  https://urgenci.net/new-report-european-csa-overview-released-by-the-european-csa-research-group/

(16)  EESC Survey ‘Boosting non-state climate actors’.

(17)  For instance, ‘How to make an action plan?’; ‘How to raise support?’; ‘How to motivate constituencies to take action?’, etc.

(18)  http://climateaction.unfccc.int/

(19)  Awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development.