2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The Multilevel Action & Urbanization Pavilion
With a partnership beginning at COP28, the Multilevel Action & Urbanization Pavilion serves as the global stage for the city and region climate agenda during COP29. The Pavilion will bring into focus not only the challenges and needs, but also the accomplishments and commitments of local and subnational actors on climate action.
Our inclusive platform brings together cities, towns, regions, and representatives from the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency organizations, as well as individuals and groups dedicated to supporting local and subnational actors in playing more substantial roles in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
We are planning for a pavilion space of 100 m2 and will be negotiating to ensure that we can have state-of-the-art audio-visual technology on site. The Pavilion will be open from 11 – 22 November 2024.
The Multilevel Action & Urbanization Pavilion is co-convened by ICLEI, in its role as the focal point of the LGMA Constituency, and UN-Habitat.
Our daily updates from COP29
COP28 LGMA interventions
These interventions have been delivered throughout the duration of COP29, from 11-21 November in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Local-to-global climate action and advocacy towards and beyond 2025
The LGMA has since advocated for a process that systematically recognizes, engages, and empowers local and subnational government as central actors to global climate strategies. If successful at COP29 in Baku and COP30 in Belém, this will become the new standard.
Through the Townhall COP initiative, local communities provide input, which local and subnational governments use to assess progress. The CHAMP process then channels this input to national governments, which incorporate it into their updated NDCs (3.0) before submission to UN Climate Change.
LGMA’s position towards COP29 negotiations
As implementation partners to the Paris Agreement, the LGMA Constituency is committed to supporting the development, financing, and execution of ambitious NDCs and other key strategies leading up to 2025. For COP29, the LGMA has therefore three main asks:
- Accelerate inclusive, multilevel, gender-responsive and cooperative action, through new Nationally Determined Contributions developed in partnership with local and other subnational governments.
- Finance sustainable urbanization and climate action at all levels.
- Align the climate, nature, pollution and sustainable development agendas.
The full version of the position, along with supporting documents, will be made available on 23 September and will be open for endorsements. The complete list of endorsers will be announced on 11 November at the LGMA COP29 Press Conference.
100 days to COP29 advocacy agenda
The #MultiLevelActionDelivers agenda for Baku
We sought national endorsements and co-chairs for the COP27 Presidency’s Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) Initiative, showing that local and regional governments are making progress across its five cross-cutting themes. We did this by bringing synergy between the UN-Habitat Second Assembly and the UNFCCC SB58, as well as World Urban Forum 12 in Egypt in 2024. We advocated for a second Urbanization Ministerial at COP28, with strengthened governance and Secretariat, and will work to bring synergy between the Global Climate Action Agenda, High-Level Champions, Breakthrough Agenda (Parties), and 2030 Breakthroughs (Non-Parties).
We can turn every City Hall and Regional Parliament into a mini-COP! By cementing the local and regional contribution to the Global Stocktake this and ever year, we will introduce political momentum to the Paris Agreement. The LGMA, in collaboration with Earth Day Network, YOUNGO, and other partners focused on NDCs, local climate plans, and climate justice using the Talanoa Dialogues model.
We enhanced our stakeholder engagement even further this year, with a focus on Loss-and-Damage Transitional Committee in collaboration with Scotland, Art6.8 non-market mechanisms in the Paris Agreement, a strong Goal on Adaptation, ACE, and more UNFCCC negotiation items.
Toward #MultiLevelActionDelivers: Latest Successes
For the LGMA, the annual COP serves as only one moment in a busy calendar. We demonstrate multilevel action delivers all year long. At the Bonn Climate Conference 6 to 16 June 2022, one major outcome was the UNFCCC’s recognition that the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake can be a local-level process culminating at COP28 this year. During World Urban Forum in Kotawice, Poland, from 26 to 30 June 2022, the LGMA presented Sharon Dijksma, Mayor of Utrecht, the Netherlands, as the Special Envoy for COP27 Ministerials and Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen, Morocco, as the Special Envoy for Africa for COP27.
At a glance: Milestones on the road toward COP29
