At a COP defined by implementation, integration, and impact, the Cities & Regions Hub brought the urban agenda into the heart of climate discussions in Belém. Co-convened by UN-Habitat and ICLEI, and hosted by Brazil’s Ministry of Cities, the Hub served as a space for governments, networks, and institutions to engage on the question of how cities and regions can close the ambition gap and deliver the climate action we urgently need.
Over its two-week program, the Hub brought together 25 partner organizations, hosted 46 events, and featured more than 200 speakers from national, local, and regional governments, finance institutions, youth, urban practitioners and civil society. Sessions tackled core urban priorities—from housing, infrastructure, and basic services to climate finance, resilience, multilevel governance, and climate justice—showcasing practical pathways for implementation and scaling.
As part of the COP30 Action Agenda, the Hub highlighted how frameworks like CHAMP, SURGe, Town Hall COPs and Country Platforms for local finance are gaining momentum as country-backed models that embed local implementation into national climate strategies.
The Hub also complemented the fourth Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change, where ministers and mayors agreed on priority actions—from expanding urban content in NDCs and NAPs to strengthening finance for local governments and institutionalizing the Ministerial Meeting at future COPs.
ICLEI thanks UN-Habitat and Brazil Ministry of Cities, as well as all Hub partners, whose continued support made this success possible: ABRAINC, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Consórcio Nordeste, the Italian Ministry for the Environment, GIZ Brazil, the Türkiye Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, İLBANK, Zero Waste Foundation, ABCON, NTU, and ANPTrilhos.
As COP30 closes, the momentum generated in Belém will carry forward to key global events, such as WUF13, reinforcing that cities and regions are already delivering and are ready to accelerate the climate transformation the world urgently needs.
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