Vincent Chauvet, Mayor of Autun, France
Thank you for your kind words on the role of local governments and municipal authorities. I hope to deliver and also raise ambition at the local level. I wanted to elaborate on this and ask a question on the future of COPs.
Since we see this is the biggest COP ever, at some point there needs to be a reflection/ How do you see the future of COPs? Maybe we can keep the climate expo part that brings media attention, but at the same time have more efficient and sustainable COPs that happen in smaller places, without leaving constituencies and observers behind. With these “on the ground” COPs within the countries (perhaps at the subnational level), there can be a UNFCCC-approved mechanism with common methodology that can link these smaller COPs to UNFCCC negotiations.
Will online participation be more efficient? It is always a pleasure and interesting to be here, but many of our citizens (I’m a mayor in France with the European Committee of the Regions) say I should be shoveling snow in the streets rather than being in Dubai. I believe I should be involved in this process, though. How do you see this (virtual participation) evolving in the future?
