17/10/2016 (Agence Europe) – During the launch of the UN Habitat III conference, the secretary general of EUROCITIES, Anna Lisa Boni, called for cities to be given a greater role in the fight against climate change and in promoting social integration and appropriate housing. Her appeal was made at a meeting that was jointly organised in Quito on Monday 17 October with the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN). Boni stated that it was crucial to use the dynamic created both by the UN conference, and at the EU level, by the adoption of the Urban Agenda for the EU (see EUROPE 11561) and that it was crucial to meet the COP21 targets (see EUROPE 11456). "Strengthening the role of cities goes beyond more human and financial resources (…) and is more about how to do things differently by involving cities more directly in the development of policies and in investment decisions in order to maximise efficiency, impact and return on investment”, a source close to the issue told EUROPE. (PH)