The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an Opinion on "The European Climate Pact".  To discuss the topic of the opinion, the Rapporteur R.K. TRZASKOWSKI (PL/EPP), President of the capital city of Warsaw, and his expert  invited stakeholders to send contributions.

The opinions is expected to be discussed and approved in ENVE commission on 8-9 June and approved in the Plenary session of 1-2 July: this calendar may change depending on the evolution of the present crisis. 

Read here the contribution sent by EOS.  "Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Projections show that urbanization, the gradual shift in residence of the human population from rural to urban areas, combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050, with close to 90% of this increase taking place in Asia and Africa. This will imply the need for more buildings and more products. Protecting the environment means ending our dependence on fossil fuels-based products. The European climate pact should build a legislative framework that create favourable conditions for placing on the market sustainable and climate friendly products and enhancing solutions that already exist such as the Bioeconomy. The European sawmill Industry is the backbone of the bioeconomy and has a great potential to reduce CO2 emission by providing the most sustainable environmental products particularly in the construction sector. If the EU is to achieve its zero-carbon target in 2050, an enhanced use of wood-based products in construction is fundamental. EOS thus calls for a climate pact that in line with the Bioeconomy Strategy encourages the utilization of wood as a building material. Everyday life is dominated by non-renewable consumables and products. Bio-based applications are still representing a minor share of materials consumed and we need to create the conditions to enhance the use of timber in construction". …

The deadline for sending inputs was on 15 April.