Let's involve cities to help avert the climate crisis

Expo City Dubai in March 2022 during Earth Hour, an annual event in which lights are switched off in major cities around the world to draw attention to energy consumption and its effects on the climate. EPAShow less

For billions of people across the world, cities are synonymous with opportunities – employment, education, healthcare and so on. More than half the global population lives in cities. That figure will rise to more than two thirds by 2050.

However, the increase in the urban population has a direct link to the climate crisis. As of 2020, urban areas were responsible for 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, up from 62 per cent just five years earlier.

City dwellers, however, shouldn’t be seen as solely culpable for climate change: many are also victims of it. Globally, 70 per cent of urban areas are already being adversely affected, from issues like flooding, rising heat levels and other extreme weather events. Many urban areas are seeing population rises precisely because of climate-induced displacement.

Given the interconnectedness of cities and climate change issues, it would be assumed that sustainable urban development would be at the forefront of most, if not all, countries’ climate plans. However, a study UN Habitat released at this month’s Bonn Climate Change Conference showed that the majority of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) lacked focus on urban elements, with just 27 percent of NDCs being categorised as having a “strong” focus on urban priorities.

This glaring gap underscores the critical need to incorporate all tiers of governments – national, sub-national and local, as well as critical stakeholders including civil society, academia and the private sector, to empower the urban climate agenda.

The Paris Agreement explicitly outlines the role of local governments in combating climate change, and the UNFCCC's Marrakech Partnership framework reinforces cities, states, and regions as essential partners in implementing outcomes of climate summits.

There is a critical need to incorporate all tiers of governments to empower the urban climate agenda

Last year, before the Conference of the Parties (Cop28), we knew we wanted to elevate multilevel action within the global climate agenda, paving the way for a stronger bridge between national and subnational and local actions and build momentum for local entities’ climate action efforts.

That was why we hosted the Cop28 Local Climate Action Summit. The first event of its kind, the Summit recognised the critical role local leaders play in reducing emissions, addressing climate risk, and supercharging national efforts to move further and faster on climate progress.

Participants walk past the Dubai Expo fixed Russia pavilion at Expo City Dubai, on December 6, 2023 in Dubai. Cop28 delivered many world-firsts, yet there is still much work ahead. Getty Images

The Summit brought together hundreds of national and subnational climate leaders to transform climate finance, enhance global action, speed up the energy transition, and strengthen resilience and adaptation at the local level. It highlighted innovative strategies for emissions reduction, climate resilience and adaptation, and strengthening national climate action efforts.

The Summit also featured the launch of the Cop28 Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnership (Champ) for Climate Action, which aims to include cities and regions in the design of national climate strategies and action plans.

Developed in consultation with subnational and national leaders, along with a diverse set of stakeholders, Champ is a pioneering initiative that recommends a new process for local and regional leaders to contribute to the development of updated and ambitious NDCs. To date, 72 nations have signed up to the initiative.

Cop28 also featured the second Ministerial Meeting on Urbanisation and Climate Change, focused on accelerating local climate finance by facilitating dialogue between ministers of housing, urban development, environment, and finance, as well as local and regional governments, multilateral banks and other non-state actors.

Cop28 delivered many world-firsts, yet there is still much work ahead of us. To seize this opportunity, I propose a three-step approach to get local and sub-national entities fully on board:

First, integrate subnational governments into national decision-making processes regarding NDCs, National Adaptation Plans, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and other relevant policies.

Second, strengthen the integration of subnational leadership across various sectors in NDC investment and implementation planning. This integration can be enhanced by leveraging existing platforms and networks such as Race to Zero and Resilience, as well as within the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency to the UNFCCC. The LGMA has served as the voice of cities and regions since the first Cop in 1995 and continues to achieve advocacy success for multilevel action in the climate agenda.

Third, streamline support for subnational and local governments to access diverse sources of finance for localised climate action. This includes engaging with the private sector, financiers, donors, and organisations to support de-risking municipal-level projects and enhancing the capacity of local authorities in governance.

Nations will submit their NDCs ahead of Cop30, and I look forward to seeing a more comprehensive input of local and regional knowledge and expertise, reflective of the key role they play in the transition. The updated NDCs will act as a blueprint that guarantee cities and local actors become a core delivery partner for national climate action plans going forward.

As a UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, I will keep collaborating with cities, states, regions and vital non-party stakeholders.

This will be done firstly, through our Cities and Regions Race to Resilience and Race to Zero initiatives, which act as key platforms for subnational governments to join global campaigns focusing respectively on adaptation and resilience and, mitigation. Both offer recognition of subnational leadership in these areas, driving clear results under the 2030 Climate Solutions.

Secondly, by partnering with organisations that champion the work of subnational governments, providing technical assistance, capacity building, and reporting support to showcase successful initiatives. Cop28 put cities and regional governments under the spotlight like never before – and that’s a good thing.

By further enabling action at local levels, we can raise ambitions for national goals, and deliver solutions that have lasting impact on the global stage.