"International organisations of the UN branch and, in particular, the agencies in the area of environment and development, should be more aware and support the policies conducted by Regions in the fight against climate change," defended the Regional Under Secretary for European Affairs and External Cooperation in Geneva.

Rodrigo Oliveira spoke on behalf of the President of the Government at the opening panel of the International Conference "The Regions in the path towards Green Economy. The government official stressed that "sub-national powers, either Autonomous Regions, Provinces or Federal states, have now an enhanced action with important results in key areas for our collective future, such as renewable energies, land management, environmental protection or the promotion of sustainable development."

"Therefore, it is essential to enhance the Regions' participation in international institutions, such as the case of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio +20, to be held next June as well as to improve access to international funding programmes," defended the Regional Under Secretary. Nichi Vendola, the President of the Italian region of Puglia, Yves Pietrasanta, the Vice-President of the French region of Languedoc-Roussillon and Jae-Hyo Kim, Secretary General of the NEAR Association from South Korea were among the speakers who took part in this panel.

In his speech, delivered in the context of a common reflection on the role of regions in climate change, Rodrigo Oliveira also mentioned to the specific challenges faced by isolated islands, stressing the Government's policies in areas such as environmental protection, spatial planning and environmental quality, with special emphasis on the promotion of renewable energy and geothermal power.

Before the Special Representative of the U.S. Secretary of State, Reta Jo Lewis, and the President of R20, who chaired the opening of the conference, Rodrigo Oliveira also mentioned "the importance of the strategic location of the Azores and their centrality in the transatlantic relation, which could be useful in environmental and climate change research." In this context, the government official mentioned the "Green Islands" project, developed by MIT-Portugal, and the Climate Research Infrastructure for the Measurement of Atmospheric Radiation, located on Graciosa.

The Conference "Regions in the path towards Green Economy" also included panels on the themes "Green Economy Opportunities," "Monitoring and the importance of regional governments" and "Access to funding mechanisms" and counted on the participation of several speakers representing regions, organisations and international institutions, Universities and Research Centres. The session was closed by the Honorary President of R20 Network and by former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 The "R20 Network- Regions of Climate Action" is a global body that brings together regions, provinces and the federal states of Africa, Asia, North America, Central and South America and Europe as well as universities, institutions and companies linked to the environmental area. This network was founded in 2010 and the Autonomous Region of the Azores is one of its founding members.