The Catalan minister for territory and sustainability, Damià Calvet, has extolled the role of the Catalan government and regional executives in the fight against climate change. He was speaking in New York, in a round table at the UN on the climate emergency.
"State governments cannot ignore the potential of the climate actions taken by regional governments," the minister said. He noted that it is often regions that are the competent authorities in relevant areas, for example, water management, waste management, spatial planning, public transport and the relationship between cities and the countryside.
El conseller @damiacalvet i @martasubira a la taula rodona amb els líders mundials que han conduït les negociacions climàtiques els darrers anys, on es debat què s’ha aconseguit des de la #ClimateActionSummit de 2014 i el que cal fer abans de 2020 per complir amb l‘Acord de París pic.twitter.com/oEgbTy2xvD
— Territori (@territoricat) September 21, 2019
According to a Catalan government press release, Calvet extolled the 2017 Catalan law on climate change, later cut back by Spain's Constitutional Court, as a "turning point" in its "ambitious" response to the climate emergency.
"It's a law which includes objectives like achieving carbon neutrality and a model of totally renewable energy production by 2050," he said. He also explained other steps taken by the government, like declaring a climate emergency and moving towards "decarbonisation of transportation".