World Summit on Climate and Territories

Bernard Soulage

Vice-President of the Rhône-Alpes region

Territories are key stakeholders in climate action for many reasons: because of their strategic powers (transport, urbanism, energy, etc.),  the policies they implement, often even more ambitious than those of their States, their proximity to citizens, their mobilizing potential, their capacity for action adapted to the specific local features… Even though they are not an integral part of international climate negotiations, they contribute to enhance the credibility of the measures to limit global warming to 2º through their actions.  

We find many examples around the world: Canada, for example, has pursued a hostile policy towards the mandatory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, but the Canadian Federal States are pioneers in action against climate change. British Columbia, first province to enforce a carbon tax successfully, or Quebec, are some of the most innovating and ambitious territories in terms of climate policy. In the Rhône-Alpes region, we have less means of action than the federal states, but we are also making an effort to set ambitious objectives and to be a proposal force.

I’m fully convinced that the sum of these commitments can effectively help limit climate change. We already have part of the solution, and this is what we want to share in July, in the World Summit on Climate and Territories.  

The event that we have the honor to host in Rhône-Alpes on the 1st and 2nd of July this year, for which all authorities’ networks and civil society networks have joined under the sponsorship of the French presidency,  is unprecedented. For the first time, all of the non-state actors are working together on ten points for reflection and speak with one voice to the negotiators. 

This massive mobilization of non-state actors from all over the world for this Summit, and the continuous relations with the major international institutions that confirm their high-level presence (UN, UNCAC, COP’s presidencies, European Commission, etc.) reveal the empowerment of territories and the raised international awareness of the importance of their action. 

Personally, I count on the mobilization of ORU-FOGAR’s members to nourish the works and to do their bit for the building of commitments. We need you all in July! I invite you to consult the summit’s website www.worldclimatesummit2015.org or to contact the team at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.