Local and subnational governments have a crucial role to play in solving the climate crisis, stemming biodiversity loss, and safeguarding human well-being. At ‘COP26’—the 26th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 13 November—cities, regions and their associations showed up in force to demand bold climate action and avail themselves as willing partners. Eline van Remortel asks, to what extent was their offer accepted?
Outcomes: bold pledges with loose language
For the first time at a climate COP, coal use was explicitly called out. The ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ – a key outcome document, requests countries to raise their climate ambitions and goals in time for the following year’s COP. Additionally, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on emissions trading was approved, rendering the historic accord more fully operable. A number of ambitious pledges were made by smaller groupings of Parties. These included, for instance, halting deforestation, protecting peatlands, and reducing methane emissions (UN Climate Change Conference UK, 2021; Evans et al., 2021).
Yet critics argue that COP26 failed to deliver enough for vulnerable communities. Promised grants to help these communities respond to the societal and financial costs of climate change are yet to materialise. In addition, the agreement on “phasing out” coal was watered-down to “phasing down” unabated coal use. Some critics also mention the loose language of the Glasgow Climate Pact – the conclusions do not include clear accountability measures for holding countries to their promises. Thus, the contribution of COP26 to addressing the climate crisis has divided opinion (UN Climate Change Conference UK, 2021; Evans et al., 2021).
Multilevel collaboration – a beacon of hope for climate action
International organisations and networks repeatedly underlined the importance of local and subnational governments in realizing the pledges and commitments taken in Glasgow. At a press conference on 31 October 2021, ‘World Cities Day,’ ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability initiated the hybrid Multilevel Action Pavilion to amplify subnational voices throughout COP26 (ICLEI, 2021).
“Starting from COP26 in Glasgow, cities and regions of the world invite all nations to deliver multilevel collaboration action, as our collective responsibility and beacon of hope in order to avoid climate disasters rapidly driving our world and communities to a point-of-no-return” – Nasry Tito Asfura, Mayor of Tegucigalpa, on behalf of LGMA Constituency.
The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) constituency brought forward a roadmap on implementing multilevel action in the age of climate emergency (Arikan, 2021). The LGMA is a grouping of local and subnational government associations, tasked with formally representing their constituents in UNFCCC processes. ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability acts as the focal point of LGMA (Cities & Regions, 2021a). The roadmap in question comprises four goals:
- Multilevel collaboration—engaging all levels of government—is to be the new normal for the next phase of the Paris Agreement.
- Identifying finance opportunities for sustainable urbanization needs to be at the top of the agenda for climate action in cities and regions.
- It is crucial to ensure just climate action for all regarding gender, safety, food, nature, and health.
- Further engage local governments in UNFCCC processes to bring clarity around local-level needs and translate national-level commitments into action on the ground.
At the Multilevel Action Pavilion, local leaders worldwide underlined their crucial position for climate action. Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, noted: “Left to its own devices, the market will not get us there. So we will need our Governments to have the courage to regulate (…) We also need them to have the courage to let go where they can – to hand the baton to cities and regions, as this is a race which can only truly be won from the bottom up (…) Let’s leave Glasgow on the right path. Free up your cities and regions to lead this revolution. Let’s achieve climate justice and social justice together – not just a greener world, but a fairer one too.”
These sentiments were incorporated into the Glasgow Climate Pact. Firstly, ‘the urgent need for multilevel and cooperative action’ was reinserted, recognising the vital role of civil society indigenous peoples, local communities, youth, children, and local and regional governments.
Secondly, the newly approved article 6 of the Paris Agreement now highlights the “inclusion of public authorities (…) and including local, subnational, national and global context” on financing mitigation and adaptation.
Thirdly, the Glasgow work programme on Action for Climate Empowerment was released, recognizing the role of local governments in all six elements of Action for Climate Empowerment – education, public awareness, public participation, public access to information and international cooperation on climate change (Cities & Regions, 2021b; ICLEI, 2021).
What’s next?
Next on the horizon is COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, late-2022. Given that the host country is in the Global South, one can expect biodiversity loss, climate resilience, equality, finance, technology transfer, and urbanization to be high on the agenda. To maintain progress, the ‘COP26 Political Declaration’ was developed by LGMA and its partners. This document calls for enhanced multilevel collaboration at COP27 in Egypt and beyond. The Declaration calls upon the Parties to include Regionally and Locally Determined Contributions (RLDCs) to complement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) (Cities & Regions, 2021a; ICLEI, 2021).
Altogether it is clear that the involvement of cities and regions can help committed Parties to implement established goals and pledges. COP26 has taken a significant step in acknowledging the importance of multilevel governance. However, the new Glasgow Climate Pact falls short of providing the necessary tools and measures to realise multilevel governance in practice – this raises the stakes for at COP27.
Resources
View the LGMA Roadmap: Implementing multilevel action in the age of climate emergency here: https://www.cities-and-regions.org/wp-content/uploads/lgma_glasgow_time4multilevelactionroadmap_final.pdf
Learn more about the Glasgow Climate Pact here: https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/COP26-Presidency-Outcomes-The-Climate-Pact.pdf
See the Glasgow work programme on Action for Climate Empowerment here:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cop26_auv_3b_Glasgow_WP.pdf
Sources
Arikan, Y. (2021). A Cities and Regions Guide to COP26. https://talkofthecities.iclei.org/a-cities-and-regions-guide-to-cop26/
Asfura, N., T. (2021). Opening Statement at COP26 in Glasgow, UK. Retrieved from https://www.cities-and-regions.org/opening-statement-at-cop26-in-glasgow-uk-31-october-2021/
Cities & Regions. (2021a). COP26: Cities, regions and other subnationals urge nations to embrace multilevel collaboration as the new normal in the upcoming decade for ambitious climate action. Retrieved from https://www.cities-and-regions.org/outcomes/#1637141528646-9a225ac0-c251
Cities & Regions. (2021b). About the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency – The voice of cities and regions in the climate negotiations process. Retrieved from https://www.cities-and-regions.org/about-the-lgma/
Evans, S., Gabbatiss, J., McSweeney, R., Chandrasekhar, A., Tandon, A., Viglione, G., Hausfather, Z., You, X., Goodman J., & Hayes, S. (2021). The UN climate conference, COP26, finally took place in Glasgow, with expectations and tensions running high after a year-long delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop26-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-glasgow
ICLEI. (2021). RELEASE: COP26: Cities, regions and other subnationals urge nations to embrace multilevel collaboration as the new normal in the upcoming decade for ambitious climate action. Retrieved from https://iclei.org/en/media/release-cop26-cities-regions-and-other-subnationals-urge-nations-to-embrace-multilevel-collaboration-as-the-new-normal-in-the-upcoming-decade-for-ambitious-climate-action
UN Climate Change Conference UK. (2021). COP26 The Glasgow Climate Pact. Retrieved from https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/COP26-Presidency-Outcomes-The-Climate-Pact.pdf