The Annual General Assembly of the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development was held this afternoon; it was chaired by Minister Arantxa Tapia and with around 50 political representatives in attendance

“Our future is at stake; that is clear and uncompromising. It is crucial to reflect not on whether an energy and climate transition is relevant — because it is already imperative —, but rather on how to move forward so that the transition is fair and inclusive; to prioritise the human dimension, to offer alternatives to those productive sectors exposed to the greatest challenges, and for regions to be granted the leadership we deserve and demand”, stressed Arantxa Tapia, the Basque Government's Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, and Chair of Regions4. The Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development currently represents 47 regional governments from 22 countries on 4 continents. The Basque Country has chaired the network since 2020.

The annual high-level meeting, which was this year entitled “Harnessing the Transformative Action of Subnational Governments for a Sustainable and Resilient Future”, provided an overview of the achievements during twelve months since the Network marked its 20th anniversary in 2022. The member regions also reflected to the challenges that the network must address to ensure that regional and subnational governments are heard where major decisions are made, in a key year for establishing synergies and connections between the climate and biodiversity agendas.

Regions4 celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. A year later, the regions continue to look to the future and share work, governance and strategy plans with the common goal of ensuring the front line of climate change action is heard internationally.

The role of the regions is fundamental: they lead up to 75% of the mitigation measures and up to 90% of the climate change adaptation measures

Regions are showing that they are crucial to achieve the global goals for climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development; in fact, up to 75% of the climate change mitigation measures and 90% of the adaptation measures are implemented at subnational level. Regions4 is their voice in the UN negotiations, European Union initiatives and global discussions in those fields. Founded as the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD) at the Johannesburg World Summit in 2022, it became Regions4 in 2019

Along with the Basque Government's Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, and Chair of Regions4 Arantxa Tapia, the representatives participating at the General Assembly included Razan Al Mubarak, High-Level Champion for the Dubai COP28, General Manager of the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency and current President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, lawyer specialising in environmental law and the former Peruvian Minister for the Environment between 2011 and 2016, and who currently chairs the recently created IUCN Climate Committee; Fabrizio Piccarolo, Director of the Lombardy Foundation for the Environment; Israel García Ochoa, Secretary of the Environment and Territorial Development. Jalisco; Pierre-Luc Gravel, International Relations Director at the Quebec Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks; and Jônatas Souza da Trindade, Under Secretary of the Environment in Sao Paolo.