The Voice of Cities and Regions
in the UNFCCC Climate Process

Welcome to the home of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency (LGMA)

About the LGMA Constituency

The LGMA has served as the voice of cities and regions in global processes since were designated an official United Nations constituency group at the 1992 UN Earth Summit. We advocated for local governments at the first climate COP in 1995 and continue to achieve advocacy success for multilevel action across the climate, nature, and desertification agendas. Learn about our advocacy channels and get involved!

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COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan is less than 50 days away

COP29 is quickly approaching, and the LGMA is preparing to bring the voices of local and other subnational governments to the global stage. Building off the successes of the past year, our constituency is focused ensuring that progress continues.

COP28 recognized the importance of multilevel action and the role of local and subnational governments in advancing global climate action. References to multilevel action in the UAE Consensus, and many other negotiated and non-negotiated outcomes, all signal a strong progress for the multilevel agenda.

Local and other subnational governments, however, remain concerned that the world is not on track to achieve the SDGs, risks overshooting the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement, is failing to adapt to the changing climate, and that nature is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. The window of time until COP30 is the most consequential as Parties are working on new National Determined Contributions (NDCs) due in 2025.

The LGMA will be out in force at COP29, to advocate for our joint positions and ensure that we defend against climate breakdown and keep multilateralism alive.

Keep up-to-date with the LGMA

Every month, you’ll receive updates about how cities and regions are engaging in the global climate agenda and other global sustainability processes, prepared for you by the Global Advocacy team at ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

Through our webinars and bulletin, ICLEI’s Director of Global Advocacy Yunus Arikan, will be highlighting developments and key topics from the global climate arena to orient local and regional governments on the important issues of multilevel governance and progress in the global climate negotiations through the year, and in the leadup to COP29.

Webinars

Bulletin

Milestones on the road toward COP29

In 2024, the global climate agenda is at a critical juncture following the outcomes of COP28, which have been described as the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. The stocktake at COP28 recognized the urgent need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, to address the escalating climate crisis. It also “urged Parties and non-Party stakeholders to join efforts to accelerate delivery through inclusive, multilevel, gender-responsive and cooperative action” (paragraph 161).

2024 is set to be a ‘super year’ for sustainability as a whole, not just climate, with the coalescence of six major UN events: the three Rio Conventions (Biodiversity COP16, Climate COP29, and Desertification COP16), as well as the 6th UN Environment Assembly, the 12th World Urban Forum, and the UN Summit of the Future. Additionally, while 2023 was the warmest year on record, 2024 may see the 1.5-degree Celsius global warming threshold being temporarily exceeded. Against this backdrop, local and regional government representatives play a crucial role in advocating for and driving forward the global sustainability agenda, as they engage in a series of significant events throughout the year.

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The LGMA at COP28 showing #MultilevelActionDelivers!

With the Paris Agreement having entered into force, the LGMA is ushering in the agreement’s second phase by cementing collaboration across levels of government as the mechanism for achieving full-scale implementation. COP28 — hosted by the United Arab Emirates from 30 Nov to 12 Dec, 2023 — has seen important milestones for the first Global Stocktake, adaptation, loss-and-damage finance, and more.

The LGMA advocated to fully operationalize the SURGe initiative, account for local voices in the #Stocktake4ClimateEmergency, and accelerate UNFCCC engagement with local governments throughout the year.

Highlighted initiatives

Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) for Climate Action

Launched at COP28, CHAMP focuses on enhancing multilevel governance to ensure that climate commitments are not only made at the national level but also effectively implemented through coordinated efforts at all levels.

It aims to drive more ambitious climate action by fostering collaboration between different levels of government, including national, regional, and local authorities, as well as non-state actors such as businesses and civil society.

Localizing the UN Global Stocktake

Under the banner #Stocktake4ClimateEmergency, cities, towns, and regions hosted local stocktakes that provided an official contribution to the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake — essentially turning their city halls and regional parliaments into mini-COP venues.

During these events, city stakeholders asked “Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there in an equitable and just way?” concerning their local ambition, national climate plans, and global climate justice.

Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) Initiative

We need effective multi-level governance to transform cities. To achieve this vision, the COP27 Presidency has launched the SURGe Initiative with the objective to enhance and accelerate local and urban climate action through multi-level governance, engagement, and delivery through five integrated tracks, contributing to achieving the Paris Climate Goals and Sustainable Development Goals.

SURGe is developed in collaboration with UN-Habitat, facilitated by ICLEI, and endorsed by 70+ global partners.

Advocacy outcomes

COP28: Outcomes from Dubai 2023

Under the UAE Presidency, COP28 in Dubai was the most ambitious, inclusive, and fruitful event for climate commitments, broader development agendas, and multilevel urbanization actions. Key outcomes included urging multilevel action in the COP28 Global Stocktake and launching the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnership (CHAMP). Additionally, the Multilevel Action and Urbanization Pavilion was co-convened by ICLEI and UNHabitat for the first time.

COP27: Outcomes from Sharm El Sheikh 2022

COP27 puts loss-and-damage on the agenda, and in two firsts, the COP27 Presidency creates a Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) Initiative while a Climate & Urbanization Ministerial brings national urban ministers to a climate COP.

COP26: Outcomes from Glasgow 2021

During the Glasgow conference, all parties were focused on keeping the 1.5°C target alive through raising NDCs’ ambition. These are the specific references to the role of subnationals, including cities, towns and regions, in the outcomes of COP26.

COP25: Outcomes of Madrid 2019

During the Chilean COP held in Madrid, the focus was on building up the ambition for revised NDCs in 2020 (now 2021). Local governments showed their aligned actions and commitments to advance towards this important deadline.

COP24: 2018 Katowice enshrines Talanoa Dialogues

COP24 in Katowice invited Parties to consider the outcome, inputs and outputs of the Talanoa Dialogue in preparing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and in their efforts to enhance pre-2020 implementation and ambition.

COP23: Talanoa Dialogues of 2017

Cities and Regions Talanoa Dialogues were developed as a bottom-up, pro-active and immediate response to the COP23 decision in 2017 to convene year-long, inclusive Talanoa Dialogues.

COP21: Paris Agreement recognizes the role of cities in 2015

The Paris Agreement, in its preamble, recognized the importance of the engagement of all levels of government. The fact that 185 Parties out of 197 Parties to the UNFCCC ratified the Paris Agreement established a strong indication of the momentum towards strengthening multilevel governance on climate action.

LGMA advocates in action

  • "Oslo is the electric vehicle capital of the world and that has been made possible with the close cooperation of the national government so that it is cheaper to buy electric/hybrid vehicles and at the local level it is made easier to use. Planning for the city needs to involve the citizens of the city actively – which also helps raise awareness of the challenges being faced. For plans to be implemented they should be concrete and measurable." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

    Mr. Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo, Norway
    Mr. Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo, Norway
  • "Cities are taking on the standards of the Paris agreements in order to be able to meet them ourselves... We want a just transition, and the social impacts that occur during a quick transition can't effect those who need the most help." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

    Mr. William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, USA
    Mr. William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, USA
  • "Collaboration among local goverments can push national governments forward towards de-carbonized societies." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

    Ms. Eri Nakajima, Vice Governor of Nagano Prefecture, Japan
    Ms. Eri Nakajima, Vice Governor of Nagano Prefecture, Japan
  • "In every council we do, we make sure that every sector is well represented: youth, academia, religion, persons with disabilities, elderly, urban poor... because lacking one sector would make our action slower." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

    Ms. Stephany Uy Tan, Councillor of City of Catbalogan, Philipinnes
    Ms. Stephany Uy Tan, Councillor of City of Catbalogan, Philipinnes
  • "I think it is necessary for everyone to recognize that we are in a climate emergency, and I am not afraid to use the expression climate emergency." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

    Mr. Geraldo Julio de Mello Filho, Mayor of Municipality of Recife, Federative Republic of Brazil
    Mr. Geraldo Julio de Mello Filho, Mayor of Municipality of Recife, Federative Republic of Brazil
  • "No city or region in the world is immune to disasters anymore... The impacts are different, but the solutions should be collaboratively developed." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

    Mr. Yunus Arikan, Head of ICLEI Global Policy and Advocacy
    Mr. Yunus Arikan, Head of ICLEI Global Policy and Advocacy