ANSWER
[tex]12\pi \: {cm}^{2} [/tex]
EXPLANATION
We want to find the area of the shaded region.
We find the area of the smaller circle and subtract from the area of the larger circle.
Area of smaller circle is
[tex]a = \pi \: \times 2^{2} = 4\pi[/tex]
Area of larger circle is
[tex]A = \pi \: \times {4}^{2} = 16\pi[/tex]
The area of the shaded region is:
[tex]16\pi - 4\pi = 12\pi[/tex]