Annual Political Dialogue – Initiative for coal regions in transition

The EU Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition’s fourth Annual Political Dialogue took place on 27–28 June 2023, in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic). This was an occasion for stakeholders from all EU coal, peat, lignite and oil shale regions (“coal+ regions”) to gather, take stock of the progress achieved since the start of the Initiative in 2018, and discuss common challenges they face, old and new, in today’s quickly-evolving energy landscape. The event gave voice to leading figures in the transition – those that are designing and implementing transition on the ground in coal+ regions, in EU capitals, and in Brussels. The programme included high-level, strategic discussions on what EU coal regions will be confronted with on their paths to climate neutrality, and how climate neutrality can be reached in a just and inclusive way. The first day’s conference was followed by visits to regional projects and transition-related sites on day two.

A number of high-level speakers led discussions during the event, including:

• Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy
• Elisa Ferreira, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms (video message)
• Petr Kulhanek, Governor Karlovy Vary Region

The first day began with a side event focused on the exchangeEU programme (27 June from 9:30–10:30), followed by the opening of the conference. In the afternoon, three breakout sessions explored particular coal+ regions in transition topics. On 28 June, the Karlovy Vary Region invited participants to visit local sites that illustrate the main challenges and new perspectives of this territory in transition.

We are pleased to be collaborating with the European Committee of the Regions on this event.

Please note that only the opening session of this event was live-streamed on the DG Energy YouTube channel.

Documents

Related links

• EU coal regions
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