Kieran McCarthy, European Alliance Group President and Cork city councilor, and Andries Gryffroy, EA coordinator in the ENVE commission and members of the Flemish Parliament, have been appointed respectively Covenant Ambassadors for Ireland and Belgium. They will promote and reinforce the Covenant of Mayors initiative in their own Member State, while enhancing the role of regions, towns and cities, in cooperation with the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors Office and the National Associations.

During the event Mr Andries Gryffroy, while highlighting the commitment of Flemish towns and cities to climate action, underlined the key role of local and regional sustainable energy and climate plans.

The Sustainable Energy and Climate plans (SECAP) can be models for local green deals and give consistency to local pledges and commitments. The information coming from SECAPs should become an integral part of National plans and their implementation must be supported by the European Commission and the Member States, he said. 

Adding that local data are crucial to achieving the transition, he also reiterated his proposal for a European Regional Scoreboard. 

"The Covenant community is a powerful source for these data. Also based on the Covenant's long-standing experience of data gathering and managing, we propose to develop a European Regional Scoreboard including clear, targeted, user-friendly indicators to measure and monitor the impacts of the Local Green Deals at subnational level"

Kieran McCarthy, Cork city councillor, highlighted the actions Cork city has been taking to achieve emissions reduction by 2030, including its climate adaptation strategy. 

"Building renovation, sustainable use of land, prioritising the use of green spaces for climate mitigation and adaptation are a key priority for Cork.  The Covenant of Mayors is a pivotal tool and it is important we continue learning from one another, and sharing local experiences in creating and implementing strategies ", concluded the EA Group President.