FEDRE attended the VIIIth NALAS General Assembly which took place in Skopje (Macedonia) on 19th April 2013.

FEDRE is Associate Member and Member of the Committee of this network of national associations of local authorities gathering 12 countries of South-East Europe.

During this General assembly, the delegates adopted a new Strategic Plan 2013-2017 and approved an increase of the membership fees to strengthen the self-sustainability of the network.

One of the greatest challenges facing the EU is how best to design and adapt cities into smart intelligent and sustainable environments. Almost three quarters of Europeans live in cities, consuming 70% of the EU's energy. Congestion costs Europe about 1% of its GDP every year; most of it is located in urban areas. Smart urban technologies can make a major contribution to tackling many urban challenges.

The Intersolar Europe, traditionally held in Munich in June, is the leading global trade fair for the photovoltaic and solar thermal energy sectors. This year, once again, trends have been evident here that will influence construction and renovation projects in the years to come.

The EU has called on European governments to include data on CO2 emissions from farming and forestry in their efforts to tackle climate change.

The draft law on accounting rules is in line with what was agreed at the Durban climate change conference in December.

But the EU does not yet plan to include farming and forestry in its CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Poland is poised to wield its veto on Friday at a Brussels meeting seeking accord on how to shift to a low carbon economy by 2050 and has written to fellow EU environment ministers, urging them to share its views.

European Union industrial carbon emissions rose by up to 2.4 percent last year, analysts surveyed by Reuters estimated, below the market cap and keeping the 27-nation bloc on track to meet its 2020 climate target.

The EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) limits the emissions of over 12,000 installations, including power plants and factories, and covers over 40 percent of the 27-nation bloc's total emissions.

Connie Hedegaard, the European Commission’s climate chief, expressed confidence that a noteworthy agreement would emerge from the Rio+20 conference.

“I’m absolutely sure,” she told attendees of KPMG’s Global Sustainable Business Growth Summit in New York. “It’s doable. I think there are viable, specific things that can be done so it’s not just a talk show.”

From 6 to 8 February 2012, the FEDRE took part in Vienna in important discussions, initiated by the World Bank Institute, on energy efficiency and energy savings in the Balkans.

The reason for the invitation was FEDRE membership in the « Energy Efficiency » Task Force of the NALAS network which gathers the local authorities of the whole South-East Europe.

European leaders have mapped out a bold agenda ahead of the Rio summit, vowing to transform development aid, help provide renewable electricity to the world’s neediest people, and bulk up the United Nations environment body.

The European Union’s ‘Agenda for Change’ proposal calls for pumping foreign aid into sustainable growth and energy access, while European Union officials have also floated the idea of transforming the U.N. Environmental Programme into an agency with expanded influence and greater power to promote research and development.

The European Union installed 9,616 megawatts of wind energy in 2011, or 21 percent of the bloc’s new power capacity, the European Wind Energy Association said.