The pledge will be made in the second, of what are now annual, meetings of mayors from across the continent .

By signing the Covenant of Mayors, they pledge to save energy, foster renewable energy and raise awareness among their citizens.

They will sign the declaration in the presence of EU Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, and, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, prime minister of Spain.

The Covenant of Mayors is a Commission initiative, supported both by the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions.

Commissioner responsible for energy, Günther Oettinger, said: “Regions and cities are demonstrating that climate mitigation is one of the best economic recovery strategies.

“Investment into the reduction of CO2 emissions and energy efficiency creates jobs which by their nature cannot be delocalised.”

The Covenant of Mayors is an annual conference that has been initiated by the European Commission in 2009.

With more than 500 Mayors signing the declaration this year, the number of signatories will raise to more than 1600 signatories in 36 countries representing 120M citizens.

For more information click here.

Luke Walsh

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