OREANDA-NEWS. April 03, 2015. In preparation for the COP 21 which will take place in Paris at the end of 2015, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (MAEDI), the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (MEDDE) and the French Ministry of Agriculture, Agri-food and Forestry (MAAF) are joining forces for a “Climate” call for projects aimed at supporting decentralised cooperation.

The Schneider Electric Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de France, whose main mission is to bridge the energy gap, supports this initiative as part of the partnership agreement it has developed with the French Local Authorities External Action Delegation (DECT). 

This "Climate" call for projects, which was closed on 15 February, will involve the implementation of projects for a total sum of €2,688,151. Announced to the public by Laurent Fabius, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development on 27 November 2014, this initiative will finance decentralised cooperation projects supported by the French local authorities in partnership with local international players. Its objectives are as follows:

  • Promote the expertise of French local authorities, as players engaged in the international fight against climate change;
  • Combine the know-how and excellence of local authorities and local foreign players in terms of international project management;
  • Through these partnerships, foster greater coherence and better efficiency in the action taken by French local authorities and local foreign players to manage these projects.

The multi-partner selection committee, in association with the French Agency for Development (AFD), met on 20 February this year. Some twenty projects supported by the rural and urban authorities, and regional and general councils were selected. The French local authorities, in partnership with their partner local authorities (African, Asian, Latin-American), joined forces to tackle issues related to agro-ecology, training in energy-related trades, renewable energy, sustainable urban planning, the conservation of water resources and biodiversity, the fight against deforestation and waste management.

These projects are part of the local authorities' major contributions to the success of the COP 21 and will be the subject of monitoring and communication throughout 2015 until the negotiations on climate change take place in Paris next December.