 This meeting where we're going to debate, propose and share most of the members of the Andalusian people's party and the European people's party and other representatives of the civil society as the European climate law in order to have a more or better cities to live and to make them more sustainable. For me, it's a great opportunity to say that we spearheading this event due to the revolution that was launched by our President Juan Ramorena. We did it via the climate law and energy transition law of Andalusia. And I would also like to say that the Commissioner of the North, who is in charge of this, depends on the President, which shows us the mainstreaming nature of the Green Revolution that is taking place. I'd also like to say that we are spearheading in the field of agriculture. Here we have the regional minister here, and we are working on carrying out sustainable water practices and the sustainability of our resources. Andalusian allows us to do this due to the geography, orography and vegetation. It's an immense pleasure for all Andalusians to see that the Green Budget of the Andalusian Regional Government, as well as other initiatives promoted by the regional government, to have been chosen as good practices by the European Committee of the Regions. And we're going to talk about this throughout the morning, and we'll be proposing, debating and above all, learning from each other. Everybody's aware of the fact that that climate neutrality is done through local and regional authorities. And I'd like to say that the Government of Juan Ramorena, or the Andalusian Regional Government, has started to take the steps forward in this path, cooperating with city councils, with a pact that has been signed with local authorities about climate change, so that local action can be carried out. Our President will later on give us details about the legal framework, and how it is being pushed forward. And we can talk about the adoption of this comprehensive waste law, the law for circular economy. But you must remember, you will agree with me that there are a series of factors that are extremely important in this framework. Businesses, businesses have to work closely with institutions. Businesses require to change their production systems, and that's why we're working hand-to-hand with them, in order to achieve all the goals that we have set out for us in this green transition. In Andalusia, we have no complexes whatsoever to speak out loud and clearly about our PPP, which we implement at all levels, and most particularly at this one, when we're talking about the environment. The most important bet for green transition in Europe is the Green Deal by President van der Leiden. Please allow me to say that we're doing away with many myths. The left has always tried to be the defender of the ecology and the green matters, but we are proving that we can do it at all levels whatsoever. The Government of Juan Mamorino believes bets for represents and budgets all these matters in the Green Revolution that can go closely hand-in-hand and in conciliation with economic progress. So defending green practices is not something that belongs to a particular group. It belongs to whoever defends it, and this means that it is part of Juan Mamorino's wealth. I'm delighted to have you all here. The Andalusian PPP is pulling along the same lines as the European People's Party, and we are going to focus on economic development. I'm sure this is going to be a very, very successful meeting, and I do hope that we will be able to repeat them, because together we are stronger. There's no doubt about that. Thank you very much for your attention. And now I have the huge honor of giving the floor to the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vesta Apostolos, City Costas. Thank you very much for these inspiring words. Dear President, dear EPP family, ladies and gentlemen, the Conference on the Future of Europe, which was launched in May, has one purpose – to let people decide on Europe's future. And the mission of the European Committee of the Regions is to ensure that the Conference will go beyond Brussels and beyond the city capitals. It must reach every corner of our Union. So dear President, I would therefore like to congratulate you for holding this dialogue today. And I would just remind everyone that Europe starts in the 300 regions and the 90,000 municipalities. Europe is my region, Central Macedonia and Greece. Europe is your very beautiful region of Andalusia. And today's debate is a shining example of how our EPP family is making everything possible to take the responsibility for our common future. Ladies and gentlemen, the dreadful pandemic has affected everyone – every region, every city, every village, every community in Europe. And at the same time, it illustrated how we turn to local and regional governments and especially to our brave public services during times of crisis. The pandemic has shown that together we are stronger. Next week, on the 1st of July, as a Union, we will start allowing people to travel freely again. If Europe hadn't produced vaccines together, if Europe hadn't worked together, the health divide would be even more vast. Many regions and cities would have been left behind, so it is clear that when and what it brings added value to people's life, it is then that we need Europe. Today's debate on climate action is the perfect example. Dear President, climate neutrality is not only feasible, it is necessary. It won't be achieved in Brussels. It won't be achieved within institutional EU walls. It will be achieved here on the streets of Andalusia. Your region, after all, was one of the first to join the Covenant of Mayors back in 2009. Your leadership, your knowledge and expertise is crucial for making Europe climate neutral by 2050. Making our transport greener, making our homes energy efficient, cutting air pollution, this will happen in and with our communities. And I'm truly inspired to see that your region's budget is linked to climate action. Whether it be promoting cycling, using renewable energy to run your public transport, or using EU funds to increase the bioeconomy, your region is a pioneer of sustainable development. It makes environmental sense, but also economic sense. The economic losses caused solely by extreme weather conditions have reached 436 billion euros over the past four decades. In the worst scenarios, they will keep increasing by 170 billion euros every year. So as you understand, there is no more time to lose. We need to act now and act fast. We have to create the right environment today so our SMEs and businesses flourish and our communities adapt. We need to offer more training to the young people so that Europe can compete and lead the world in green technology. We need to work together to pave the way to being even more ambitious on climate resilience, to make our regions and cities greener and smarter. Saving energy and cutting emissions saves money and saves lives. Investing in sustainable transport and digital tools creates jobs, creates opportunities. So ladies and gentlemen, in the middle of the pandemic, the European Union member states agreed an unprecedented EU budget and recovery fund. Spain will have almost 70 billion euros from the EU's recovery and resilience facility, 40% of which is for climate action. A further 31 billion euros will be available for cohesion funds. Now, how funds are spent must be decided, unfortunately, between the national and the regional and local partners. And I say, unfortunately, because today in Europe I see that national governments in their vast majority do not involve as much as they should, regions and cities. Centralization, my dear friends, will slow down our recovery. Europe will recover only when the regions and the cities recover. So it is time to invest and it is time to invest together. Invest to deliver a just and green recovery for every region, every city and every village in Europe, rich or poor. The EPP's priorities are clear and I call every EPP, regional or local leader, to continue to deliver smart green projects that create long-term jobs. President, I call on you not only to join but to lead our committee's Green Deal campaign that aims to empower, accelerate and deliver sustainable projects in our communities. Dear friends, too many citizens today see the European Union as distant, slow, in responsive in some cases, and it is time to change that. But for the conference on the future of Europe to succeed, politicians at every level must listen with open ears and improve the way the EU works. Our House of European Democracy has solid foundations, regional and local authorities, solid walls, the member states and a protective roof, which is the European Union. Our committee's strong delegation to the conference on the future of Europe, which started last week, will represent the one million local and regional leaders in the conference and in this great discussion, this great opportunity for Europe. The people who are representing the Committee of the Regions in this conference are people whom the citizens have entrusted their confidence, their vote. And we will honor their trust every day during this very important discussion for our future. We are your voice, and together we will make our Union more democratic, more efficient and accountable. We will bring Europe closer to its citizens. We can and we will do this together. Thank you very much for contributing in our common future. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would first of all like to start by thanking the different representatives of the civilian and Andalusian society who have been so kind as to join us today in this important meeting. But you're going to align me by starting to greet the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Mr. Apostolos Chichicostas, thank you very much for your presence here in Seville. And thank you very much for your presence in Andalusia and for the magnificent work you're carrying out for the benefit of the Regions and Cities in Europe, President, of the European People's Party who will be with us online, but fortunately technology is allowing us to be able to get in touch is from different parts of our continent. The President of the European People's Party and European Committee of the Regions, Mr. Cablich, you also know Seville really well, you know Andalusia really well, and you come very often. And we'd like to encourage you to continue visiting us as you have done in other occasions with your family because it's always a great pleasure to have you here with us. Secretary-General of the Andalusian People's Party, Dolores M.E.P., Dolores M.Servant, thank you very much for being here. It's a pleasure to have you amongst us, the Deputy Secretary and Provincial President who's with us today from Granada, Haen, Cordoba, Cadiz, thank you for all these representatives to being here, which shows and points out how important this meeting is. The regional ministers, or the Treasury, Mr. Juan Bravo, the health care, Mr. Jesús Iguerre, Patricia, for culture, the spokesperson, Mr. José Antonio Nieto, IMB, and parliamentarian, and Mayor of the City of Seville, and Mr. Zoida, who is one of the most visible faces and the most representative ones of Andalusia and the European Parliament. Mayors like the Mayors of Valjeviras and Estebona to great mayors. And just like I said at the beginning of my presentation, and I'm going to speak slowly so that we can hear the interpretation, I would like to thank the representatives of Seville Society for being with us here today. A meeting that is particularly important for us on their presence, no doubt. At the different panels on discussions that we're going to hold this morning, I'm making our meeting even, rich and give us greater visibility. And I'm referring to the rest of the University of Seville, Michel Angel Castro, to whom I'm extremely grateful for being here with us today. I would like to thank him for his actions and hard work. Trade unions, but most of all, Luya Lopez from one of the trade unions who has been re-elected for another four years and represents no doubt the voice of many workers in Andalusia, as well as the trade union, as well as Ricardo Serra, who's with us. Christa Valcano, who's with us today. Andenric Millio, who's the Secretary General for Foreign Action, without whom this would have not been carried out. I'm sure I've left someone behind in my greetings. I'm sure that maybe I will never be greeted by the persons I've forgotten, but this is what happens when you have to greet so many important personalities like we have present here today. I'd like to say from the bottom of my heart, it's an honor and a pleasure to be able to inaugurate this meeting, which I consider is very timely, organized by the European People's Party that focuses on the important role that has to be played by our villages, cities and regions in order to stop the deterioration of our planet and of our land. I have the intuition that it has not been a decision that has been made casually, having chosen Seville and Andalusia for the meeting, not only for the attractiveness of Andalusia and Seville. I think it's also the result of trying to acknowledge the humble efforts that we're making from the regional government of Andalusia, and we're doing that, promoting initiatives that will allow us to come closer as soon as possible to complying with the sustainable development objectives that we have set forward for us at worldwide level. So that a region like ours, which is vulnerable, which is important, also has to take it upon its shoulders and do something quickly, assuming also the postulates of the European climate law, the so-called law of laws that has to guide the different steps and decisions that are going to be made in our continent, the European continent in the next 30 years, and which finally, finally, will be adopted tomorrow, a law that if you'll allow me is going to take me back to a memory that goes back a year ago, because a year ago by videoconference due to the pandemic, I had the immense honour of being a speaker before the European Committee of the Regions, and I talked here about the essential role that's played by regions in the struggle against climate change. There is no doubt whatsoever that climate change is a global objective, but we're only going to achieve it from individual action as well as local and regional ones, because if we don't build the awareness on climate change and challenges brought from bottom top, the strategies will be useless. A strategy, and I'm convinced of this, must go from bottom top. We have to produce awareness at the grassroots, and you start doing this with information. There's lots of lack of information about climate sensitivity, environmental matters, which is the result of people talking about matters and denying them. We need environmental actions that are responsible. We need to educate in schools, high schools, universities, but above all, we have to lead by example from the public sphere, from the administrations to ensure that we achieve our main zero paper reducing the carbon footprint. And when facing a challenge like this, you have to be strong. Your heart cannot be passive, and you cannot do it half-heartedly. When we have finally been able to do away with a myth that told us that economic growth was incompatible with being less contaminating, as you know, we've heard it very often, and we've been able to do it. Do away with it, and you can build and grow and thrive without polluting, and we're going to do it. But we're also promoting sustainable policies. We've created green employment, and we have created progress without having to exhaust natural resources, which should be available for future generations. But there's also something that I would like to highlight today. The circular economy is also going to be a huge opportunity for employment and future for many villages in the hinterland, and not only in Spain, but throughout the European Union that is studying suffering from population deterioration. And we also have to talk about our blue resource, a country like ours that has nearly 1,000 kilometers of a coastline with two facades, one looking onto the Atlantic and one onto the Mediterranean, has to look and cover it bravely and clearly. The time has come, and that's why I would like to talk about binding the green deal with the recovery from the pandemic, and I congratulate you for this, because it's going to allow us to multiply our investments and accelerate the transition to an environment in neutral Europe. Much before the 2050, I think that we're going to be able to reduce that deadline, and reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases considerably too. Mr. President, you know, like everybody else, that Europe has a lot to lose in the post-pandemic world. The investment of many millions is representing an opportunity which for me is a historically unique opportunity and unrepeatable in the short term for many regions and for many cities in our delusia, because it allows us to be able to go beyond what is done at an average in Spain and the rest of Europe. The European Union has a name which we should not only applaud, but is to support, and it is to do away with the gap, the differences of prosperity and wealth amongst regions. And I think that after the pandemic with these funds, we have a huge opportunity to do away with this gap that exists in many parts of southern Europe. We have the time of accelerating our production model, producing green progress, and using the support of sun energy, which we have in the south green hydrogen, wind, ICTs, biomedicine, which are all industries where we're already strong, but where we can not only be spearheading, but also a world and planet reference. We are ready to make the most of this opportunity. In fact, we are utterly convinced of this in Europe. And to put a delusia where she should be opening lots of opportunities for better prepared generations. But there's only one thing I'd like to add. We need to get to the aid, and we all have to be very good at managing it. And that's why I would like to publicly thank you for making your voice be heard so that the European Council and the EU will make the grants come to Spain so that they can be invested in the projects that have been developed by Spain. But we also have to double-i for it to increase the involvement of cities and regions. And I would like to insist on this last fact because I find it particularly important. They're not only important from an institutional standpoint and its balance, but I would also like to add that they are absolutely key to make sure that this aid will reach every single corner of the European continent in a capillary fashion, going into all the city councils that we can find in a continent. Because being close to the citizen makes it easier to do things better. In brief, it's states, trust, co-governance so that these funds can trickle down to cities and regions. I'm absolutely sure that we will be able to go further and be more efficient from an economic and social standpoint. This is key. This is key. And that is why I'd like to insist, like I said last Thursday when I spoke to President Sanchez and I think that the voice of Andalusia is going to be heard loud and clear. There cannot be economic recovery, a full economic recovery and we cannot lose a historical opportunity like the one we have ahead of us without governance, with governments and regions when it comes to managing European funds. This is an objective that is clear and essential for us and which, unfortunately, as the President of the European Committee of Regions has said, we believe is not being done appropriately. I think we are lagging behind. We have a conference with the President at the end of the month and I think that many European member states are not having an appropriate view from centralisation and I think Spain is doing the same thing and we have to avoid making this mistake and both the region of Andalusia as well as many others in Spain are going to ask to have the direction of these projects be changed. So far, we still do not know what are these, what will be the criteria for sharing out these funds. I would like to conclude talking about something that I am very enthusiastic about. I think this is something that we have all worked towards together and we have called it the Green Revolution here in Andalusia as the President of this wonderful land. This region is even larger than 809 European countries with nearly 90,000 square kilometres and 25 million inhabitants that have been recorded and there are many more that are not actually in our census but there are many dreams in Andalusia that we want to fulfil and we want to ensure that we want to leave the future generations in Andalusia that is livable. I have this opportunity to promote these changes as the President of Andalusia. I think that one of our main features should be this fight. We want the European institutions to recognise that Andalusia is in the forefront for its determination for its commitment and recognise that Andalusia and its citizens are very much aware and sensitive to this climate change. This is a land that is being threatened by this situation and we really take it seriously. Andalusia wants to reach zero waste and this will mean that the government and society must be on board. The Town Council, City Councils and County Council will obviously be involved in this endeavour. We must obviously push for this change as there are many initiatives that I am not going to list here because we have made very important decisions here in Andalusia. We will continue to work towards this. We are also taking legislative measures with new laws such as the circular economy law but what is most important is social awareness and this is why we must all build this social awareness together. There are still sectors in our society that don't understand or in fact deny this situation. They deny this threat that we are facing throughout the planet due to climate change and this is obviously going to be caused disruptions in society and also in the country's emigratory flows. This is the main challenge that we will be facing as a society once we overcome the pandemic. This is the main challenge in Europe and this is a challenge that we have taken on board. We have no complexes in this regard and because we will be leaving the future generations a better legacy. We are going to make Europe the best region for employment and the future. This is our goal and for this I thank all of you although the people present here at this event all the authorities and colleagues that have come from all over Europe. We are very proud. We obviously welcome you all in this universal city in this marvelous city that is Seville and also in our autonomous community that is always shows its hospitality and welcomes anyone who comes here. I would encourage you not only to come today but also many more times we want you to always keep Andalusia in your agenda and in your hearts. Thank you very much. We are going to start this first round table, this first panel. We are already somewhat behind schedule and one of the most important tasks of a moderator is to get the debate moving. I am not going to make any introduction. I want to thank the presence of all of you. I want to thank the European People's Party group to have hosted this event here in Andalusia and we have very important people here. I think it's absolutely wonderful to see all these people together. Some of them have to leave immediately because they have to catch a flight. Other people will be connecting with us online and this has to be done in 15 minutes. That's all the time we have so we are going to go very quickly. After that we will have another two round tables and we want this event to end around 1.30 so that we can also have some lunch all together so I have the honor and the luck I would say because the person I am going to present now is important not only for the work that she carries out but because I am a friend. I have here Delos Montserrat who is a member of the European Parliament head of the Spanish delegation of the European People's Party and also a member of the Committee on the Environment at the European Parliament. She is very knowledgeable about the topic that we will be talking here today. She knows exactly what is the situation of the European Regions and how they can face the challenges and I have also been informed that the European Parliament will be voting tomorrow about the European Climate Law and our President, Juan Mamoreno was the rapporteur of the report that was presented to the Commission and the European Parliament so I would say that we have co-ordinated all this work very well so I would like to give the floor to Juan who will thank you very much and it's a pleasure to be here with a friend. You know, we have these Catalans, Catalonias that are always having to talk about coexistence and constitution, etc. But in fact, Catalonia is half an illusion. Thank you very much to the President Juan Mamoreno, President Chichicostas and members of the European People's Party. We have to be very clear. We have to be proud of being members of the People's Party in Europe and the People's Party in Europe because we are the ones who have most of the governments in Europe. We have the largest group in the European Parliament. We have the ones who are leading all our works also. We have the ones of Andralania and the European Commission. We also have the ones who are running the Committee of the European Regions and that is why Mr. Chichicostas is here to with us today. So we have to do the same in Andalusia as we do in Europe and we have to also become the Spanish government in the future because we think that our policies really work. And all those stems from our regions, our villages and our cities. I want to also agree that the MEPs who have come to this event we are going to be talking today with Mr. Juan Palestón who is an MEP and Vice President of the MEP Group the whole of the MEP family as well and also Juan Inotio Soedo who is doing a great job in the European Parliament to protect the agricultural and livestock sections. I want to say something about this world in which we have a war born where we develop our live projects as well in which we are carrying outreach that does not only belong to us we are simply safeguarding the world for future generations and we must grasp on this legacy in better conditions to the future generations who will inherit it. So there is this intergenerational link between our grandparents our parents us and our children. So we all make a huge effort because this goes beyond us but we are now facing a huge challenge and this challenge cannot be overcome if every village, every city, every region is involved in obtaining all this goal which is to provide a legacy to our children that is better than what we have today. We have to protect the environment we have to protect our health and we have to create jobs and this is something that is possible this is called sustainability and this is something that the President of the European Union and many of you have understood very well put into place this green revolution you have invested more than 1 billion euros to create 20,000 jobs and this is already making Andalusia one of the leading regions in the fight against climate change and I always try to the creation of jobs compatible with the environment we are committed to the environment in using the environment for sustainable growth we must protect our environment because this creates wealth and this is something that we must all understand I think all the Andalusians have understood is let the other regional government of Andalusia this is something that we must convey to all the European citizens that at the local and regional level we insist on these resilience policies another thing that is important for us in the parliamentio and I talk about this every day at the European parliament the regions of villages and we must protect the farmers because they are not spread, they are the best allies, the best partners that we have to ensure that we can protect our fields if we improve the cities the air quality making the transport system sustainable this is how we are improving the life of all our citizens I always tell people that Europe is not rich in natural resources I'm talking here about oil natural gas what we were simply doing was to use these resources and creating waste and this waste was something that was damaging for our environment we now know where we want to go we have to recycle and this way waste can become an important resource for Europe and the circular economy is going to allow us that we can cut back depopulation the circular economy we used to have all the waste produced by pegs and we now use this as biomass which in turn becomes a high quality so the citizens of a city or a village field responsibility for their forest they have a sense of ownership they want to take care of the of the air, the environment and this is something that all the economic sectors are doing people enjoy living in more areas with better air quality with a low population density and better public services and COVID-19 and the pandemic has shown us how weak we are how vulnerable we are we felt that we were invisible we were vulnerable but the pandemic has simply destroyed the walls that we have created over the centuries because the pandemic affects everyone equally and we have realized which is a problem we have so climate health intrinsically interrelated and this is what we are working on in the regional government of Andalusia I have just seen the regional minister of health whom I am also afraid we must encourage our farmers and the tourists sector to take care of the environment because if we don't do it correctly this will have an impact on the fields, on the optimum production and the environment of the agricultural holdings this will also help us to fight against drought and make sure that there is enough water we must also manage the forest better to prevent forest fires and at the same time we must also create better protection for our coastal areas and we have to ensure that transport, water and energy must be more resilient and more critical and we must also increase awareness about the threats that can be derived from climate change we have to improve our health system that threats to our health due to climate change is something that we have seen that has grown over the years greater forest fires there is also a larger spreading of different diseases, new type of diseases therefore the health system has had to be able to face these challenges especially to unknown diseases previously unknown diseases in Europe just as we have done here in Andalusia how is this going to be done? using the European funds who has pushed for the European funds and making sure that they reach Spain well the people's part the European people's party we are the ones who have done this in record time we have been able to do three things the Europeans of these funds the European funds do not belong to any ideology or any government these are not funds to create a new planet or to simply spend it in a wasteful manner it should simply be used to create jobs jobs and jobs make sure that our economy is the most competitive the circular economy to ensure that there is a transition from the analogical era to the digital era these are funds that are also going to strengthen our health system so that they can be more resilient these are also funds that have been paid by all the taxpayers in Europe and this is how the European Parliament demands transparency to make sure that this money will reach every single region every single corner of Andalusia this is why Europe is leading a change and this is why Europe has decided to create the Europe for health to try to avoid the repetition of the situation that existed initially with this pandemic and this is why we are talking about the digital certificate and the passport because Europe is one of the most visited regions in the world and we want to make sure that people can travel to our regions safely and this is why European, Spanish and Andalusian people are there with the people to try to overcome this situation this crisis that is environmental health and economic crisis and I think that we have to focus on this and thank you very much I think Andalusia is doing a great job and you are like a mirror in which the other regions have to look in Thank you very much Dolores thank you very much for the work you carry out as the head of the European People's Party I know that you are doing a great job these needs, these priorities that you have mentioned here for Andalusia and in Spain are something that you are always defending working towards in Europe and I think that is the spirit of the work ethics that should exist and remember what she said, climate change health, economy they all go hand in hand so we want to continue to work in this and I thank you very much I know you have to catch up very soon you have to fly out of this event and we really thank you for the effort you have made to be here with us today I have just received a message and we are going to listen to the vice president of the EPP group directly from the European Parliament Mr. Esteban Gonzalez-Paul he said that he couldn't wait anymore because he has to take the floor in a debate at the European Parliament so he simply wants to greet you very warmly he has been looking at this streaming but he will not be able to take part in this event because he has to also participate in the debate in the European Parliament these are things that happen when you are live and I will move on to the next speaker we now have with us someone who really wanted to be with us physically but this has not been possible because she is now in the Spanish Senate she is taking part in the vote for the approval of a new national park in Spain we are talking about the Sierra de la Cinebes National Park here in Andalusia this vote is taking place today and this is why our regional minister of agriculture Carmen Crespo is there this is why she has recorded a video and I would like to request the technicians to show us this video as a regional minister of agriculture fisheries and sustainable development I want to welcome you all especially the MEPs who will be talking about very crucial issues which are the climate in Europe and also agriculture at this time I would say that these are essential issues for the Andalusian government I want to thank the Spanish delegation of MEPs who are in Andalusia today this provides a window to explain what we are doing today first of all I would like to say that I am very proud that the president of the president of our Andalusia has been elected the rapporteur of this European climate law why so because Andalusia is in the very south of Europe we are also impacted by the climate change we are committed to fighting climate change we are committed a firm commitment and this is something that this government is very much invested in and this is shown by the fact that we have this green revolution that is led by the president of the regional the regional government of Andalusia I want to also agree Dolores Montserrat and the moderate José Enrique Millo who is the Secretary General for Foreign Action in this sense you are our window window to explain what is the Andalusian Green Revolution it is a way to do politics differently until now all we heard was people talk about the environment but now we are looking at concepts so everything has changed not only the climate neutral commitment in 2050 but also the development of a law that had not been implemented and we are talking about the climate change law we have developed the different elements of the law the Interdepartmental Committee the action plan for the action plan for the climate these are things that this government has done and this reflects the firm commitment that we have to fight the climate change and we have also done things that are quite a different from what has done before we have already measured the carbon footprint we plan to do this across the regional government of Andalusia imagine what is the situation this is an administration that is very comprehensive and a government that has an impact on the 8 million lives so we are measuring this carbon footprint just like it happens in other regions in Spain but we are also looking into the different ages in Fulca the airplanes of them not only the ministerial structure so we are not talking here about measuring carbon in any way but we are doing it in a very accurate and specific way to do this we are cooperating with the different cities and villages so that they can place a climate change plan this administration works hand in hand with the municipal governments also the air quality standards in Andalusia we are involved in the measurement of all of these parameters and find what kind of changes have to be made to ensure that we have a good air quality which has an impact on the health of all Andalusias Andalusia also has many so the western part of Andalusia has a completely different situation from the eastern part we have to take into account of different bases and others and these bases really are governed by the Spanish government but we do have in place drought plans, water management plans and we are also doing this through the resources from the water cannon before this government arrived to power we have to pay 8 million euros because we were not building the necessary water treatment plans we already have 300 water treatment plans for which there have been a call for proposal this one was not only to treat the water the wastewater and I think the most green thing that we can do is treat water and this treatment will also allow us to have more water available and this water that has been treating allows the farmers to use it to irrigate their lands and we are now in this phase where there is a restriction and it can also be used in the cities water is essential we must continue to work on this issue and we are trying to make the most of these resources so the next generation fund and all the plans and initiatives that are carried out in our region should be under this fund because this would allow us to move forward both economically and environmentally the Rules which is a large dam or reservoir the San Silvestre tunnel or the expansion water treatment plan but there is different activities that the government has to take over and carry them out and the next generation fund are essential for this we are also focusing on our parks which is a region in which many of the territory is protected we have a huge amount of land that is protected we are working on biodiversity we also have very important European plans for example regarding the lengths we have already doubled the number of links or the Cape Cady that lives in a Doniana we now we are going to approve now the Sierra de las Neves National Park in Ronda today like I said and this will have an impact also on the environment and this will have an impact as well on sustainable development the fact that we have three national parks means that we are the region with the largest number of national parks we believe that all the natural areas have to be taken into account we are at a stage where depopulation is important so we have to make the most of our rural areas natural areas that can produce and we are not only from the point of view of environmental tourism but also as investment a larger agriculture investment restoration the possibility providing additional possibilities for our rural area giving the opportunity to be able to remove all the elements to the territory and to do this you need to strengthen it I am referring to sustainable hunting I am referring to agriculture sustainable agriculture but even more so like different types of forestry treatments ensuring that what Andalusia is doing is clear all of this is the green revolution the green revolution of the facts and we are committed with Europe in the European law of climate by which we implement our climate action plan we move on forward with the climate change law and also with another law that is going to be a pioneer when it comes to environmental possibilities for the future as well as the post pandemic business niche in this case we are talking about the law for circular economy which is going to be one of the most complex and newest ones in Spain and we want it to be closely bounded to production and provide possibilities to other productive industries so it is not about manufacturing using a thrown way but manufacturing using and reusing so this government is fully committed where the European goes and of course we are going to do it with responsibility and non stop with possibilities that will give economic opportunities for our citizens and help us to invest in rural areas which today is absolutely essential to the pandemic that is why the Andalusian regional president and all its team with Europe in the European green deal and with the Andalusian citizens that are particularly aware today of the preservation of our nature and the fight against climate change thank you very much thank you very much I think listening to the regional minister we are aware of the possibility that Andalusia has the thanks to Carmen Crespo and regional minister of how these tasks have to be carried out within the green deal and to fight against climate change that we will do from here within the European context a very intense short full of content presentation but that gives us a very general view of what Andalusia is doing today and finally to conclude with his first panel even though we are rather late on schedule I have listened to the person who is in charge in the field of agriculture sustainability in Europe but now we are going to listen to the person who is there in the fire lines and my colleague Mr. Fartisco who is the secretary general for the environment of the Andalusia thank you very much this is the second piece of information that Enrique has said to be short on schedule the first thing I'm going to do is shorten the greetings it's a pleasure for me to be here with such good friends some of them I've already been able to greet personally and I will greet others later on it's been a very very long time since I last saw some others because of our daily work it does not make us feel terrible but for today there is a double for the ministry the ministry I represented you to the meeting that we have today and secondly because of the adoption of the general part of the law by which the third national park of Andalusia is created which is part of Sierra de las Neves which was already a natural park and which today will become a national park as you name a very broad you know that there is a lot of work to do and what we have to focus on is the European climate law the law of which the European Union wants a national level to show their leadership to show their leadership vis-à-vis the economies and their struggle against country they are actually being able to do it but the the European Union has its leadership but if we are leading to European level what is clear from the previous speakers is that Andalusia is leading to national level when it comes to the struggle against country we can't say anything about it we have been so since the beginning of our legislation and we have been defending it because the delegation with which we attended COP 20 have this leadership because we have already promoted our strategic environmental cooperation which I signed two days ago which will be finally adopted after it undergoes the regular legal proceedings we have this leadership because we are going to be able to develop a climate to change the law that has been established with a full blown development of the law which is those who know parliamentary dynamics and have known it for some time and although the previous administration has been we will see it as a challenge a landmark of Andalusian the Andalusian region which shows our commitment because we have a general secretariat for climate change the norms are very long general secretariat of the environment water resources and climate change the director general for the commission for climate change and energy transformation and transition so on the leadership of Andalusia at a national level is very very clear but we also are conveying it in our relationships with town councils we have given city councils a visor for climate change scenarios so throughout the different tasks they carry out we may be able to detect the different scenarios they're going to face in the next few years or decades related with the multiple variables that are involved in climate change the regional minister has said this very clearly and I'm not going to repeat myself but it is clear in the guide that city councils have available to draft a leadership that is visible in meetings like today we've heard about the European law presentation as was mentioned by the president of the Andalusian regional government and we're aware of climate change today we know what consequences are we're not going to be one of the regions that is going to suffer one of the resources of climate to change because we're going to put the right measures to do it we know which are our weaknesses but we also know which are strengths we know as a European Union our opportunities because any crisis will allow for opportunities it allows for opportunities of transformation and transformation will be achieved in the economy by the circular economy law and this has been highlighted by it we're also going to achieve it throughout the Andalusian regional government with that important law for all the region as is the LISTA to promote the sustainability of the Andalusian territory where we're going to be able to transform regions, cities and areas so we are aware of the challenge that we have ahead but we're also aware of our opportunities because if we are going to face climate change sooner we will have experience we will acquire knowledge and technological abilities that may be in the future will allow us to teach the rest of Europe about them because sooner or later the northern most northern regions will find themselves in the same situation but right now Europe should be looking towards the south because this is where the desertification process is starting and which may end up by reaching central Europe for the time being we have it here hence events like these where we see the commitment of the European Union the commitment of the committee of the regions and the European People's Party are important because we feel the support of Europe we are asking Europe to look towards the south but thanks to the European People's Party we are feeling their support where we should be moving towards to is to a better understanding of the struggle against climate change and the needs of southern regions like Andalusia it is true that we have to promote a decarbonisation of the economy but it's not only that we also needed to promote something else and the recent actions at a European council level we have seen that we have to reduce CO2 carbon sinks our forests our fields our coasts our wonderful carbon sinks and we are far more competitive there than other European regions so we don't only have to look towards the east and towards the decarbonisation of certain economies at the east but the European Union should also look south we believe that this understanding exists if we want an Andalusia that is greener we need to counter on Europe's commitment and for those of us who are at the trenches every day like and rick said fighting against climate change and fighting for the protection of the environment we see that the green Andalusia can be achieved and that we have the support of the European people's party for it so thank you very much for the help that you are always giving us thank you very much Francis for what you have told us and for being able to keep within the time limits and your summary is very useful look at what's happening in such a few days in Andalusia and you can see that there's knowledge, vision of the future quality of the work that's carried out and vision and we're going to make contributions from Andalusia to the rest of Europe so we know what we're going to do because we are paving a certain way. On Monday we presented in Granada the initiative Andalusia for the future of Europe so that the voice of Andalusia can be heard loud and clear in the rest of the Europe we've seen how this National Park is being approved here we'll see that all the different projects that we've been involved in in Andalusia will be heard about tomorrow and this morning we've also heard that there's yet a lot to do so I am not going to go on but give the floor to the next panel and now we're going to have the opportunity of hearing the moderator which is Cati Demigel who is the representative of the Andalusian Regional Government in Andalusia in Brussels sorry and we'll also have with us our dear friend, very good friend who have battled together Mr Juan Ignacio Foy MEP and we will have online presentations by Miguel Arias Cañete and also Prista Feis, Ricardo Seja from Andalusia whom I would like to host to come to the stage so we're going to start with the second panel sorry for the delay and please forgive us because we have online our first panelist this luxury panel as a presentation I'd like to say that we have three magnificent experts for the second panel we're going to start with three good friends and three experts like I said before so whatever is said is going to be fruitful and in any event extremely positive because we're talking about three huge experts so Ms. Guel Arias Cañete who does not need an introduction I would only like to say Miguel that you're looking very handsome by the way Miguel as you all know has been the minister of agriculture minister for the environment he's been former commissioner European commissioner for energy and action and I think that he has reached the maximum political level that can be reached at the European Parliament and if we talk about agriculture and climate change he can give us a general overview I think that Miguel's presentation is going to be very positive so that we can understand what the role of agriculture has been and or the role it has played along this action because this has been like the element that has actually staged it good morning ladies and gentlemen the international community adopted an objective a long time ago which was to reduce global warming as much as possible about a series of actions had to be carried out for this not only in the European Union but also in other countries and this has has been one of the European Union has been one of the first economies that has said that they would achieve this goal for 2050 focusing on climate neutrality zero missions but this requires important objectives there is not only a very ambitious objective which is joined by the 2030 one which is to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 and this cannot be achieved unless you know the goals are clearly set and even more so in terms of agriculture we need to have healthy and wholesome food that are produced sustainably but for this we needed to have a good common sinks the administration is responsible for 10% of the emissions and until the Kyoto protocol well it wasn't clear which sections had to carry out the reduction of emissions and different actions after the European Council at the end of 2040 is the farming and agricultural and livestock rearing industry included in this effort and but it is done in an ad hoc fashion because the European Council request the commission to give measures to diversify sustainable production and the production of sustainable food which is what is requested and also regulate the greenhouse gas emissions and the sequestration of these gases in agricultural practice and different of provisions are made to try to see how the agricultural sector can do something about it so in May 2018 law was issued where it was stated how this could be done focusing on transportation construction and removal of waste as well as different details but there is a far more specific law that is issues where there is a regulation of greenhouse gases which result from land use and forestry for 2013 this regulation stated that each state was to make sure that between 2021 and 2025 and 2025 and 2030 could not be higher than the ones produced in carbon sinks so on the 14th of July of the following year there is a law which establishes how the process should take place favoured for 55 which is going to be a very ambitious project likewise when the new common agriculture and policy is drafted a focus is made on its goals for different sectors but among them we want to increase the productivity of the agricultural sector improve the quality of food production and to have a better more sustainable use of resources with a good preservation of environment and forestry resources it is true that agriculture represents 10.3% of the total EU emissions 70% of emissions comes from the animal husbandry sector we know that since the 1990s when the CAP was not including these actions for emission reduction the farming industry has reduced it in 20% so there has been an increase of production under reduction of emissions 55% of emissions are due to metal and the others too I know too and nitrous oxide the European Union has underscored the funding idea which may seem controversial but it is part of a strategy that they have called from the farmer to the table so it meant that food had to be choose to faster reducing the use of crop protection products 50% to avoid health problems in the future and it was felt that if this was well managed you could provide added value and reduce costs but what I would like to point out is that farmers are in a unique situation because they can have carbon sinks and this is something that society has to compensate them for and it is neither acknowledged nor compensated today because there are regulations that have the right framework for farmers to have this taken into account because they have to reduce emissions and their different practices whether it is animal husbandry or agriculture but they not only can receive the support of CAP but from other sources and amongst them the acknowledgement of their contribution to carbon sinks is going to present a new policies on carbon sequestration because it is going to lead us to a new business model that may provide farmers with an additional possibility to solve problems so summarizing the contribution of agriculture to avoiding climate change is first of all to adapting to temperature increases if we are able to ensure that all countries abide by their commitments to reduce global warming because if we don't so the impact on agricultural practices is going to be very high but we also have to mitigate emissions from agriculture farming animal husbandry and others it requires technological innovation changing technologies and techniques and practices used but if we all contributed to agricultural carbon sequestration by agricultural practice then we would be giving a sector which has proven how resilient they are during the pandemic a lot of support society has to acknowledge the contribution made by farmers there's one thing I'd like to say it is true that the EU is leading and spearheading efforts like this but it is also true that our policies are carried out at a regional and local level and I would like therefore personally to congratulate the Andalusian regional government for taking these policies really really seriously and because they're implementing all the necessary resources for these policies to see the light and ensure that Andalusia is making a contribution to fighting against climate change thank you very much for your attention thank you very much Miguel as usual your presentation is very very clear and it has focused on core factors which I think are going to be a very good starting point to talk with Ricardo Serrano everybody who operates in this field knows that this is a crucial stage for us tomorrow and the day after tomorrow we have the trilogy between the commission parliament and council to conclude the CAEP negotiation and if it all concludes well let us hope it's going to be better for some than others so that on Monday on Tuesday in Strasbourg it will be adopted under the French presidency it's not very clear yet it depends more than on Monday on Tuesday not so much on Monday on Tuesday as on tomorrow and Friday and this is important because one of the indications of the farmers is that they're asked for more commitment they may be given less and I think that Miguel has talked about something very very important which is the activity of farmers on their role they play with carbon sinks Juan Ignacio I think Juan Ignacio has to catch a train so would you like to take the floor first in case you need to leave and then Ricardo and myself can stay here thank you very much ladies and gentlemen you see this afternoon there's a mini plenary session in Brussels and I have to arrive as soon as possible because there are two important debates that are taking place this evening I would first of all like to thank the People's Party of the Committee of the Regents and Juan Marmorino President of the People's Party and the Lucian President for organizing such interesting meetings like the one we're holding today because it shows how interested he is and the commitment with the Green Deal not only that it's also giving importance to agriculture as a strategic industry in Spain and I do hope that the current government is Spain had this strategic vision of agriculture and farming in Spain we are here today to study in depth what the future is going to be from the challenges that we have ahead of us I think that we should also acknowledge what has been achieved in the past two and a half years because Juan Marmorino has only been in power for two and a half years at the Andalusian Regional Government and despite this he has managed to achieve many things so many things that Andalusia has become a benchmark in European environmental matters thanks to Juan Marmorino Andalusia has gone from lagging behind to become the spearheading country and region in these elements and making sure that they are a vanguard and novel solutions in Europe to hold this event with this light and in this environment in Seville is something that we have to be grateful for because we have chosen just the right place to hold this meeting this was the gate towards the Americas in the past and it is today the gate of this modern Andalusia developed by Juan Marmorino we're delighted to be here in Seville and I'm even more delighted to talk about agriculture and our commitment with the Green Deal and to do it with people like Miguel Arias whom I believe has been a reference for all of us not only in politics but also somebody who's convinced about European politics and has not only done that but managed to direct the energy policy of Europe and climate matters So I'm also happy to be here with Ricardo Serra he is a reference point within a SAFA in Copacoleca at the European level Ricardo Serra is the man to go to a professional he has always rigorously defended the farmers and being here also with Cati de Miguel is important for me because we have been friends for many years and we have shared many fights to achieve certain policies the agriculture sector the agriculture sector and sustainability when we talk about these issues to be in the same debate over the past years when we talked about agriculture and sustainability well, these are topics that we have to acknowledge the efforts made by the agriculture sector to be able to reach the Paris Accords and Miguel Arias was a very important person to achieve those dreams and I think it's important also to quote some people the greenhouse house has a emission and the agricultural sector only represents 1% of all emissions in particular those people who choose the farmers the European farmers as the people to be played I think they are completely in the wrong and the problem here is that this is just done by some radical activists this has become the norm in some sectors of the European Commission including the Dutch Socialist Don Timmerman who is part of a member of the trilogy and he is trying to avoid that this agreement can be used to impose his green ideology which is radical instead of basing it on scientific criteria I think that this green crusade in Europe against the agri-food sector has no precedence anyone who is level-minded knows that about the environment are the farmers he said if the sky is so high it is because the farmers keep looking at it so the farmers and their families are the ones who defend most of the climate they are the ones who suffer the most from droughts, from flooding from heavy rains and also from extreme temperatures and climate change making these situations worse and they have increased the frequency this is why the farmers have been working already for decades to ensure that the farming can be sustainable and they have to reducing the emissions I would like to give you another figure that I think is important in the past 25 years the tractors emission has been reduced by 95% I think this is something that everyone should be aware of the farmers are ecologists they are environmentalists even before this trend was used and this was something that they did before it became part of an ideology farmers are important to decontaminate the world as the commissioner of the transport of the energy sector so then this is something that can also be reflected in the industry and the energy sector I want to give you another example the dezas and forests in Andalusia are large carbon sinks they absorb the emissions and slow down to certification this also happens with the olive farms it is estimated that an olive plantation with the 20 years of age can capture 50,000 kilos of CO2 so farming is not part of the problem of the climate change but rather it is part of this and also society at large should acknowledge it this was something that occurred before the pandemic while society was right there behind agriculture if everyone is aware of this situation this is a commitment that we must all support if everyone is aware that the polluter pays then it is time now for those who decontaminate every cent that they receive under the CAP the subsidies and grants under the CAP are not simply money that is provided it is also an investing for sustainability and I would like to repeat now what our moderator said regarding what is being decided in the reform of the CAP some people want to come back the funds and even the Spanish government is saying that they are going to provide less subsidies to the Spanish farmers they say here in Andalusia and in Seville that the Andalusian farmers are doing a lot in favor of they being pleasant and empty words I think what the farmers need is compensation and very clear support and now that we are about to conclude the reform I think we have to get down to what is actually important and this is what the European People's Party the Spanish People Party is doing here in Andalusia what is also working on this we have to trust the farming sector consider it a partner in the fight against climate change otherwise we should simply disregard the sector and not consider it for the fight against climate change I think the People's Party is doing things right but this is not the case of the socialist party so I think we have to trust in the ability to reach a reasonable reform of the common agricultural policy I hope that this can be solved and I would like to request the minister plan us to continue in the wake of other important agricultural ministers that have existed in Spain and who are all part of the farmers in Spain and Andalusia and in Europe I will now give the voice to the farmers to recover go ahead then really reconform to hear what Miguel has said about the new possibilities this event is very interesting because tomorrow the day after tomorrow we will be completing the agreement to reform the CAP and this will have an impact on what we do until 2030 and I think the European Parliament has a big role to play because they will take part in the Greens and the people who are environmentalists and they don't seem to be able to support their position with scientific funds farming is blamed for 7% of the greenhouse emissions and this was said by the ecological transition minister and 27% of the H.E. is from transport 17% industry 18% fuel consumption so in Andalusia where the agricultural load is lower on G.H.E well I think that these figures are important to bear in mind I don't want to dwell too much on the object of goals of the Green Deal because what will be effective is the 50% use of phytosanitary programs by 2030 30% of nitrogen is chemical products 25% of agricultural land must be used for organic farming 20% to landscape 50% of waste must be also reduced so why do we say 50% why not 30% why not 40% when we create a project such as this one we establish certain goals and we also put into place how to achieve those goals and then we carry out an impact assessment study we have to see how much this is going to cost but there are no impact assessments or are there any because if there are any they are being kept in a drawer until the template is apparently the assessment does not go in favor of what some people want the North American agriculture department who is probably worried about the impact of the Green Deal on their economies and I am going to read through this report I will highlight some of the paragraphs and I'm reading textually to determine which is the impact of this proposal we have carried out simulation of the policies and their goals using different scenarios in this totality of the scenarios has shown that the reduction of the inputs have an impact on the farmers of a green farming that would have an impact on farmers and that is to say that farms would be less productive would lead to a lack of protection for these farmers the adoption of these strategies would also have an impact beyond the European Union leading to increases in the prices of the food across the world and this is only taking into account the European Union if we take into account other countries that would be an increase of 89% this will have an impact but worse living conditions for the citizens we estimate that the higher prices of food would increase in 22 million the people who are living in a more vulnerable situation across the world and overall it would affect 185 million people across the world so we are establishing very ambitious goals without actually considering the impact that it would have without actually foreseeing how to mitigate the impact of these policies the European Social Committee has published the three reports on the Green Deal I cannot go deeply into what it says but how am I treating one of the parameters the degradation of the environment is it has a strong and adverse impact on the airline and in particular the urban areas leading to the abandonment of certain areas where the landscape would deteriorate if we do not carry out the necessary mitigation measures what they are trying to say here is is that if the rural world is not sustainable then people will emigrate to the cities and this will lead to adverse effects on the environment which affects us even the commission the European Commission in one of its reports and I would like to quote again the European Commission does not consider that the sector can carry our large reductions so this will have a minimal impact on GHE it considers that the ambitions go far beyond what one should be expected because the margin of improvement would reach a limit and this would have to be revisited if necessary as Juan Ignacio has said the farmers are the first ones who are convinced about the adverse effect that environmental changes can't have in particular on the areas where they live in rural areas there can be greater desertification extreme temperatures extreme events in terms of the climate so we are the first ones who are interested in ensuring that this actually works well however the burden of the situation should not be maybe in the hands of the farmers but we must also compensate them for the efforts they will be making I heard this sentence this phrase by one of the farmers who went to the social and economic committee he said the farmers cannot be green if their numbers are in red thank you very much Ricardo thank you very much Juan Ignacio and of course Miguel I think the situation is quite clear Ricardo's presentation has been very clear the farmers are the first ones who are interested in ensuring that this green revolution moves forward but with the necessary support the most important economic sectors in Andalusia is the agricultural sector and this is on what the people's party in Andalusia is working on we are all very aware of this situation and we'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow the day after tomorrow in Brussels Monday Tuesday in Luxembourg let us hope that everything works out fine so that it can benefit everyone and we will now move on to the third panel we are still behind schedule let us ask the next panelist to come up here good afternoon we are going to move on to this last panel and green revolution in Andalusia which we have seen that is perfectly aligned with the principle of European principles and that is translated into specific actions for example different infrastructures that have been implemented different actions plans that have already been approved so these are policies that lead us to this common goal which is to make sure that the green revolution materializes this green revolution will also receive funds from different institutions regional, government but also civil society and private sector and this is something that is made evident by the members of this panel José María who is a member of the European Committee of the Regions he will be talking to us about what are the constitutions made by the local authorities well thank you very much well this is a day for reflection so I want to focus on three ideas very specific ideas because this morning we have already heard that there is a green revolution there is a new environmental movement that has to focus on the cities on the urban areas the three ideas I want to share with you to try to do away with the myth first of all convenient or not for the cities to grow second whether it is convenient or not that the cities is compact or extensive and third that the non-urban areas must not be used for housing first of all we will go to the growth of the cities well I put this in doubt it is true that we have to build the green areas make sure that the transport system is non-polluting I think we can do more in this sense we have to carry out an exercise of human geography to see how much can a city grow what is the maximum growth that it can have the maximum number of inhabitants can one city have for example in the case of Stepona where there are say 1000 inhabitants 3 that you can't have 2, 3 or 5 million inhabitants there is a logical limit when a city reaches a certain level of population in which it can have enough services then we have to make a political and administrative effort to try to rationalize this growth because we would have to think for what reason and for whom if there are no people that really need that growth any city any city when they analyze these parameters and we see which are the limits to really engage in this unreasonable growth does not seem logical if you have a certain number of kilometers of coasts if you have a certain number of services if you have certain parks that are also limited when you have this already and you look at these parameters to try to go into an unlimited growth that really doesn't make sense so urban planning has to look into this we have to rationalize how this growth takes place another myth that I think we should look into is the myth of a compact city Europe tells us that cities must grow starting from what already exists they have concentric circles this is a mantra in Europe and even the Lista or the lay on urban land in Andalusia which is yet to be approved but the people's party has really invested huge efforts in this law well I hope that it will soon be approved and one thing that is important about this law is how compact a city should be and I think we have to question this we have to look into whether this is truly applicable because we have seen that during the pandemic people have tried to move out of the cities they did not want to live in cities they want to live in isolated places in the Costa del Sol where I am from I am the mayor of Estepona we have seen that there are compact examples like Torremolinos in Benalmadena which whose quality of life has a drop with regard to Estepona Benjabi in Marbella because we are not a compact city so this myth of a compact city is something that we should question, call into question and the third idea with which I conclude is this prohibition within the Spanish legislation to live in the urban soil stating that you cannot build or live or even do anything with land that is undeveloped if we can live if we can work in the hinterland, in the fawn lands why are we not allowed to live there as well after a given a minimum size of land why don't we allow people to live there obviously with all the necessary guarantees and precautions and the services and so why not allow people to live on the land there are some farms that have thousands and thousands of hectares but they are not allowed to build a house on it isn't that the best way to do things the people who live in the hinterland in the rural areas are the ones that are going to be more concerned about ensuring that everything works well, there are no fires and the environment is properly protected thank you very much Mr. Mayor for your thoughts on how the city should grow obviously this is something that we have to take into account and we all agree that we must bear in our sustainability criteria for these cities to grow and I am sure that there's no new law that you have just mentioned this stuff will also be approved in a short I'm going to give it for now I'm going to give it for now I'm going to give it for now and he will be talking he is contributing to this green revolution to different agencies that can implement these policies towards the green revolution he will be talking to us about the details of this green revolution thank you very much first of all I'd like to thank you all about we don't have very much time left I am going to focus on the actual state of the art of Andalusia the struggle against climate change and the actual content of the green revolution like our president has said during the opening ceremony the bed for the green revolution is clear and decisive we have our eyes on 2050 to become a decarbonized region but we want to reach this goal soon international commitments whether it is the Paris agreement the 230 agenda to take upon challenges that in some cases are very difficult to achieve but at the same time it's an opportunity our huge economic opportunity that Andalusia has at their hands the geographical position of Andalusia means that she is going to be one of the regions that is going to suffer most climate change at the same time the option of renewables is a huge potential she has is very important because it's going to allow us to replace traditional sources of energy like coal low energies for new ones solar energy, wind energy but less known ones like biomass where Andalusia has a huge potential to tap into in order to have a clear idea of what we're talking about when we talk about the green revolution we can not only talk about the environmental transition because it includes other things an example of the green transition in the field of energy today would be the fact that we are developing working with different projects where there is an important level of private investment that is more than 18,000 million euros and in its strong capacity or potential in strong capacity of more than 20,000 megawatts in order to understand what I'm talking about the national plan for climate and energy forces huge amounts of energy for 2030 and 2050 which entail that the volumes that we're working within Andalusia would represent more than 40% for some sources of energy more specifically solar energy we have green hydrogen that's coming recently and though it is quite an old and mature source of energy it is becoming increasingly important today green hydrogen also offers us huge opportunities of our industrial states in World War in the port of Al Jazeera we have possibilities of exporting from these places apart from energy to make the green revolution to come true we also need the legal framework to develop in other areas and this is precisely the effort that is being made by the Andalusian regional government to its regional ministries just like Francis said before the legal initiative on the circular economy in the sphere of environment that is something that we have at hand that is accompanied by sustainable development because when we talk about the green revolution it has a lot of substantive to it in Andalusia what we wish to achieve is a far more resistant economy a more modern economy a more resilient economy and why so that in the future apart from creating jobs and economic development to ensure that the region will be able to face the challenges it has had even better it also provides us a huge opportunity for Andalusia not only to become a reference national in european but also why then the government is going to work towards this thank you that's what I have to say thank you very much from Andalusia as Andalusia is a huge land of opportunities and opportunity to the sunlight of the eosyncrasy but also due to the technological ability and investment in our region to always continue to sustain the green revolution this transition has a lot to do with Andalusia now I think it's a lot of work for Andalusia for the Andalusian parliament of agricultural sustainability who will tell us about what is being done from the legal point of view supporting measures that are as significant now important as the Andalusian lot of work thank you Maria for your kind words and the hard work you've done I would like to thank the colleagues who have joined me how many minutes do I have 25-0 in 0 minutes I'm going to summarize absolutely everything that we do in the Andalusian parliament when Juan Marino talks about the green revolution in its day everybody thought that it was just a show off like Sanchez is doing but when they resist saw that we are actually doing things and becoming a reference for other territories not only in Spain but they may start listening to us why because the green revolution is the green Andalusia for Andalusia so that everybody knows what we're talking about Andalusia is like the pilot project where everything has to happen for this one I mean to say we have more risks than anybody else in a situation where if the sea level goes up knots get to help and we have 1000 km of coastline if there is a severe desertification there's no doubt that Andalusia is going to be the first to suffer from it and it will climb through the rest of Spain so Spain has a future threat but also strength and a quicker, critical strength some people say I'm an Andalusian so which environmental team you will re-win you to that's why Andalusia is a leader in organic production with many other matters such as the capacity to get for renewables and for many other reasons that I have to advocate for modern Andalusia we are talking about that we have shown before because we have proven during the pandemic that Andalusia has a solution so a lot of them are not empty so there is no chaos in Europe when you cannot see basic commodities available and this can only be guided by Andalusia that is why the sea is important for us that is why we are risking so much in environment because we are an example of human actions our projects for conservation or the three national parks that we have today are important like three national parks we have today because a new park Sierra de las Nieves will be the third one in the region after the re-anansi so it's an opportunity another quick reflection I would like to make here to show the environmental example we are the example of Bolidano the pipeline under Doña the composting plants that don't come to stay in the southern mountains in Seville which are scandals projects that are scandals which we will have heard about cannot be an example of war we are talking about the last demonstration is going to do do something about it we are dismantling the property so we are not going to to study the impact that has to be supported and it should not be a problem for us we have to go harder than they have to see the other day I was quickly briefing where somebody said it's not plastic that's not plastic and it can't be okay world I don't like it I don't know who has been told that sucking cardboard is nice but it's not but I understand those and the timing things that we have to adapt to when we talk about that it's sustainable practices of getting about the use of plastic we have to use practices to cut from this joke I'd like to say something else we have to do it as a solution that is not permanent we're making people angry we can't tell citizens that we're going to abuse electricity rates all the tax is very good because that's going to contribute to less pollution and it's going to grow the government and just like governments we can talk every day about this and we have to try to do this but every year we have to throw in our waste into rivers and seas how do we change it we find 100 million euros that are going to be invested this year next year that it is possible to have a new water policy like that as we achieved with Andrew Lucian what agreement is described by all political parties this session is going to take the picture but it's not voting favour of this which is proof that they had something to hide after so many years turning the issue of this has been said not only do we have to believe if we really have to believe in this but we have to prove it like the regional government is doing here to help us and we have to be as educational as possible to stop being considered enemies of the environment and move forward to achieve the goals that we have set for us thank you very much thank you very much I think about the two main things here is that the green revolution is a fact and it's supported on specific facts, sustainable energy water management technologies the Andrew Lucian action for climate change the air better atmosphere and so on and so forth which is something that we're all pushing forward from all the different areas of society and this is something that I believe we should be proud of and congratulate ourselves on the Lucian's for it and with this I would like to hereby close this session and now we're going to give the floor to Antonio Lobbe Secretary General of the European People's Party and MEP and the event will be closed by Mr. All Geblavuik President of the popular of the European People's Party at the Committee of the Regions well first of all I would like to thank this initiative to our group to Gigi Gostas I would like to send you a warm welcome also to the President of the Junta de Andalucía Maria Moreno the Regional Minister for the Presidency Mr. Bendodo and I have also seen the European People's Party Catherine Miguel who has made a change is a global problem that requires global sleep under the People's Party has been the one who has been a pioneer climate law global warming is a reality and some people simply try to use this as a banner for their ideologies only but we take this very seriously as Juan Ma Moreno said the climate law is one of the main pillars of the European Commission's Green Deal and it is led by Uthla von der Leyen a member of the European Green Party it talks about how to reduce emissions and reach our goals by 2050 it also crosses competitiveness within the European Union without leaving anyone behind this is something that also differentiates us from other people who have a popular position see the challenges and we want to make these challenges compatible with the current situation of the climate the recovery and resilience funds are also going to be a focal point for this recovery to be able to fund the different measures that will be that has already reached its goal here in Spain we all have we are led by Miguel Angel who was one of the people who worked key to the Paris of course and this has been recognized across the world this group was created in 2020 and despite the very difficult situations of the pandemic they have met virtually with the different decision makers of the European Party at the regional, national and European level to support the European climate Green Deal I would like to thank the Committee of the Regions the European People's Party and the debate set up and organized today with the leaders at the local, regional, national and European level to ensure that we can also implement the European climate law and due time during tomorrow's primary session as different speakers have mentioned will vote to approve this law and this has a binding effect on all member states we have to achieve the climate neutrality by 2050 and this is a very important step towards the implementation of the Paris of the world that requires global solutions and we are seeing a common all must be involved and this is why the European People's Party will continue to work with the Andalusian European People's Party who I would like to insist once and again, dear Juanma dear Elias dear dear friends this party has been a pioneer in green transition and this is a true example of how we have to deal with a climate neutral a climate neutral society thank you very much for your attention Dear friends it is it is my great honor and privilege to close today's local dialogue and of course, first of all I would like to thank two presidents Juanma Moreno for invitation to this beautiful Vivid of Andalusia and to address you during this first EPP local dialogue after launching the conference on the future of Europe so I'm very happy that right here in Seville we discuss our local matters, we discuss our future in the framework of the conference of the future of Europe as a first I have to admit that it is third time I have a possibility to visit Seville and every time I'm really impressed by hospitality and welcome I get here but during last year I'm really, really delighted that I can see how the Andalusia how the region in fact can really transform itself for the better under the leadership of the EPP our EPP member president Juanma Moreno and I would like to congratulate him and congratulate you it's really great work so please accept my congratulations on that climate change has been for a long time among the top priorities of the EU citizens and it is in the fact that it is taken seriously by us the leaders of EPP in every corner of Europe of course it was taken seriously but Ursula von der Leyen but thanks to this today's discussion I can see that it was taken seriously but by president Moreno and I can ensure you that it is taken seriously by me itself and I would like to share some experiences for my region I am a president of one of the biggest Polish region West Pomerania region located on the Baltic Sea it is bordering region with Germany so we have a plenty of good examples how make our reality green I am really proud that my region is the biggest producer of renewable energy I was informed right now that Andalusia is leader in photovoltaic energy production my region is very windy region so we mainly produce energy from windmills but I have to underline that 20% of Polish renewable energy is created in my region that this production covers in the 73% our average annual energy consumption in our region I am really proud that thanks to some kind of good environment in my region it could develop so dramatically and it is our way how we would like to perform such a program to allow people to modernize their heating systems and only in last two years we managed to reduce CO2 emission more than 14,000 tons so it is comparable to planting over the 2000 trees so we do our best to clean up our air the third example it is public transport in Poland regional authorities are responsible for regional trains so right now we are the first region in Poland and one of the first regions in Europe which have the hybrid propelled trains so trains with hybrid engines with electric and diesel railways lines are electrified we can use, we can choose we don't have to pollute in the lines when we don't need it to pollute it thanks to that so we have plenty of good examples and we can see that it is our choice to be green as a local and regional authorities and as an EPP leaders so these examples we have raised here today clearly demonstrate in my opinion three things first, local and regional leaders are driving force in implementing green transitions as we are responsible for a 90% of climate adaptation measures and 17% of climate mitigation policies what is more we we manage one third public spending as a local and regional authorities in Europe one third public spending and two third of public investment so it is impossible to reach our green aims without harshing our investment in green aims second as the EPP family we are driving force in the green aims and we have plenty, plenty, plenty of good practices we discussed it today about the practices in Andalusia a little bit about the good practices in my region but we have thousands of such examples performed by our EPP leaders so all we need right now to we have to realize people that we are doing it for them and with them just like European people party on the ordinary basis and third we are committed and ambitious with the climate target but we need more resources we need direct EU funds for local and regional authorities implementing Green Deal projects as your president Juan Mamoreno underlined in his your opinion on the climate law so we have to be we are very realistic politicians we are aware that if we have ambitious goals we have to have additional resources so it is the third point from today discussions and dear friends just to briefly sum up we have to think why we should do it what for why we need this green revolution I think that it is all about responsibility European people party our people in every corner of Europe have been always responsible we were and we are responsible for our citizens we are responsible for our families and we are responsible for our children so it is about responsibility when we talking about green Europe because our dream is to pass our villages our citizens our regions to our children as green clean places with a good perspective to live with a good environment healthy and wealthy so this green revolution is about our EPP responsibility thank you very much