Following the invitation by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to participate in the climate summit in New York on 24 September, AER was present with the R20 to reiterate the role of regions in fighting climate change and will do so again at the occasion of the World Summit of Regions for Climate in Paris on 10 and 11 of October.

AER’s presence at this kind of events is crucial as regions are increasingly seen as key partners on climate, as shown by UN Secretary General’s invitation to AER. We now wish to turn this recognition into concrete partnerships with international institutions at the occasion of the Conference of the Parties to take place in Paris in 2015.

President Hande Özsan Bozatli took that opportunity to visit various political and opinion leaders in New York and Washington. The President has met with twelve foundations and think tanks as well as four US governmental organisations. Common topics of interest such as youth, equal opportunities, concrete joint work in South East Europe or economic cooperation with the National Governors Associations have been identified. The concrete outcome will be presented to all members at the next governance meetings while the follow up is currently being done.