While Europe accelerates its plans to support areas in need of phasing the coal industry, the pandemic hits hard European regions and cities threatening economic and social cohesion.

Is Europe ready to fight on two fronts?

To answer this question, the ESPON Programme and the German EU Council Presidency bring together top policymakers and global thinkers in two online events, open to the journalists and the public to interact.

On 18 November 2020, at 14.00, one of the world’s leading experts on sustainable development, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and ex-advisor to three UN Secretary Generals, exchanges with Markus Kerber, the State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community of Germany, on the topic of: “Is energy decarbonization compatible with just economic transition for regions and cities?”

And the next day, 19 November 2020, at 10.30:

• Elisa Ferreira, the EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms
• Apostolos Tzitzikostas - the President of the Committee of the Regions
• Volkmar Vogel, the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community of Germany and
• Jerzy Buzek, Polish MEP and former President of the EU Parliament

discuss live how the EU Just Transition can bring recovery for regions and cities. The debate is well-timed as the trialogue among the EU institutions is in process to finalize the scope, amount and conditionalities of the allocated EU funds.

Both events will be live-streamed on Twitter from the ESPON account @ESPON_Programme. Participants and journalists are free to ask questions either during the debate or by sending them in advance using #ESPONweek or direct messaging on Twitter. You can subscribe to receive updates for this event here

Not to miss:

In the morning of 18 November 2020, the biannual online Magazine, TerritoriALL will be published on ESPON’s website focusing on the coal phase out regions and the territorial impacts of COVID-19. The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the EU Parliament rapporteur of Just Transition Fund, Manolis Kefalogiannis and the CoR rapporteur on cross-border public services, Pavel Branda, Deputy Mayor of Rádlo Municipality are among the hosted authors.