2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference

We learned ahead of COP26 that multilevel action delivers ambition. By November 2021, more than 60 nations submitted stepped-up Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement predicated on the fact that, in whole or in part, subnational climate action made it possible to increase ambition. More than 1,000 local governments are proceeding toward climate neutrality through initiatives such as the Race-To-Zero, Race-To-Resilience, and Thematic Climate Action Pathways. For COP27, we linked-up the multilevel approach with more nations, helped our local governments continue to implement climate-neutrality pledges, created a system-wide approach through legislative-executive-judicial stakeholders collaboration, and energized the UNFCCC Friends of Multilevel Action.

Despite COP26’s success, several key areas of work remain unfinalized. Food, nature, adaptation, culture, finance (particularly Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement), circular economy, 1.5-dgree C lifestyles, blue economy, buildings, mobility, waste & consumption, and energy were not sufficiently addressed but remain as immensely supportive themes, particularly around implementation. Climate migration has been largely untouched in negotiations but is already being managed at the local level. And after another year of deadly extreme weather events, issues around loss and damage must be addressed. We will work to connect the LGMA to the Climate Vulnerable Forum.

For two years, the LGMA has advocated for ministerial-level moments focused on climate and urban places. We are encouraged that the first-ever Climate & Urbanization Ministerial was announced and we will fully support its success. As we expect a growing reference to urbanization, we will work to intitute4 this theme into all agendas of the UNFCCC and ensure the Climate & Urbanization Ministerial continues as an annual fixture at the COPs. In addition, the LGMA is offered a unique experience this year to collaborate with the COP27 Presidency and UN agencies on a Sustainable Cities Initiative. We are committed to making this among the strongest workstreams at COP.

Egypt has always existed at a unique crossroads connecting the African continent, Mediterranean, and Middle East regions. As every COP is a regional mobilization, we used this COP to elevate the voices and roles of the nations and people operating in these regions.