COP29: European mayors and city leaders appeal for more money to prevent climate disasters

Local leaders could be the driving force behind plans that help their areas to survive extreme weather.

Transcript

00:00The recent floods in Spain have led to intense scrutiny over the role of regional governments

00:05in managing climate change related disasters. And here, at COP29 in Azerbaijan, European

00:11regional leaders are asking for more investment in adaptation, because they are realizing that

00:17everything from the concrete infrastructure they have to their emergency management systems

00:22are just not ready for the future. Here's the president of the European Committee of the

00:26Regions, Vasco Cordeiro.

00:47Making investments in watercourse management is one of the kinds of proactive investments

00:53that can really pay off in the future, according to the president of the region of Bratislava,

00:58Juraj Droba.

00:59You really have to think very well how you spend the limited amount of money that you

01:04have. What paid off in my region was building small dams in the hills, which actually stream

01:13the little rivers in such a way that they didn't do more damage than they did. And I

01:18think this is something which doesn't cost you much. You can do it at the time of normal

01:23weather conditions, and then you are much better prepared.

01:27There are many voices clamoring for attention here at COP29. But mayors, city leaders, regional

01:34councillors say they need to be listened to, because when it comes to climate change, they're

01:38the ones on the front line. And when things go wrong, they're the ones facing the backlash,

01:43too. Jeremy Wilkes at COP29 in Azerbaijan for Euronews.