Arnold Schwarzenegger gives an award to AER President for her commitment in favor of green energy

New York (USA), 20th September 2011

The President of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), Mrs Michèle SABBAN, received an award today for her commitment in favor of climate change from the hands of Arnold SCHWARZENEGGER, President and founder of the R20. This ceremony took place in the framework of the second R20 summit, in New York.

“I am glad to tell you that seventy seven per cent of our members have now developed regional action plans to answer the coming shortage of fossil fuel! We are also proud of the fact that, in some regions, green energy account for nearly half of the total energy consumed” stressed Michèle SABBAN, AER President. “Because of AER’s extensive experience of interregional cooperation, and above all because of our strong ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, I am convinced that we could be in vanguard of R20” she concluded.

Officially created last year in California, the R20 is a group of regions and federated states which have decided to make the fight against climate change their priority. It aims to develop and implement low-carbon projects at world level thanks to the cooperation between infra-national governments. The R20 attests at the same time the will and the capacity of its members to establish green economies at the test of global warming.


The Assembly of European Regions (AER – aer.eu) is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe. Bringing together 270 regions from 34 countries and 16 interregional organisations, AER is the political voice of its members and a forum for interregional co-operation.

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