ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network working with more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development.
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network working with more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development.
In Baku, the ICLEI network showcased the strength of cities and regions and demanding bold action from Parties
The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) convened in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, came at a challenging time – on the heels of a contentious election in the United States, and with many elections in some of the world’s largest democracies, such as Brazil, India and France, in 2024. New reports from the UN and others showed that we are failing to make progress against climate change at the speed and scale required to address it adequately to avoid its existential threat.
At the same time, cities and regions came to COP29 with a goal to build on the successes of the last COP. Cities and regions saw huge wins at COP28, both in the negotiated outcomes and in the process of achieving those outcomes. ICLEI’s key messages for COP29 celebrated these successes but demanded urgency and action from the Parties. Bold agreements are needed to ensure we can still achieve the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and effective climate adaptation. The period until COP30 is crucial, with new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) due in 2025. Seventy-four nations have already endorsed the CHAMP initiative, pledging to involve local and other subnational governments in their revised climate goals. Local and regional government leaders were at COP29 to bring these important messages forward.
Local and regional leaders from ICLEI went to COP29 to show our critical role in achieving not only our own local and regional climate goals but in following through on ambitious national and global climate action goals. Our message is clear: nations cannot do this alone.
But our nations also have to be our partners in ambition. This year, when the multilateral community was under extreme pressure, the results were mixed. We welcome the new climate finance deal, which triples the existing amount of investment, and is the first new deal on finance in 15 years. But the amount also falls far short of what is truly needed to support every community around the world to combat climate change and adapt to its hazards.
In almost every other respect, Parties at COP29 fell short on the urgency and ambition that is needed to meet the moment.
Read ICLEI Leaders COP29 Outcome StatementThe ICLEI Network brought many important developments to COP29 to elevate the role of subnationals on a global stage.
On 20 November, ICLEI and EARTHDAY.ORG announced a new partnership to engage mayors and city governments worldwide in public dialogues.
Marjorie Kauffmann, State Secretary for Environment and Infrastructure, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, announced the municipal climate impacts readiness assessment.
The Association of Regions of Morocco and ICLEI Africa signed a memorandum of understanding, celebrating a strong commitment to sustainable urban development.
ICLEI and Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities launched the Ibero-American Urban Climate Atlas “IberAtlas,” a strategic initiative that brings together critical data on heat island effect and warming.
Backed by recent U.S. Department of State funding, this unit embodies the collaboration and focus needed to scale up initiatives and meet today’s challenges alongside philanthropic and government partners.
Led by ICLEI USA and ICLEI Africa, the initiative is now open for enrollment - it seeks 15 cities in the U.S. and 15 in Africa to provide knowledge-building and tools for Culture and Heritage-Based Strategies for Resilience.
ICLEI USA brought mayors and local leaders to COP29 to highlight local contributions to the climate movement through exchanges with local leaders from Ukraine and China, roundtable discussions with Ministers of Transportation, and more. Hear the key outcomes from the “Climate Finance COP” and what these outcomes mean for U.S. cities.
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ICLEI Members, leaders and experts participated in dozens of interventions, sessions and events throughout the two weeks of COP, on themes including:
All the highlights from local and regional leaders on the ground.
On 13 November, Brazil submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution, which strongly integrates Brazil’s subnational governments into the national plan and actions.
Mayor Arve, Mayor of Turku, called for speeding up multilevel action, fair urbanization financing, and integrated climate action at the Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change.
COP29 lacked ambition, offering inadequate finance for vulnerable nations. Amidst this challenge, hope remains in Africa’s growing climate leadership, innovative financing solutions, and resilient communities.
On 19 November, the Water for Climate Pavilion hosted a session spotlighting the importance of locally-led initiatives and multilevel governance in effective water management.
21 November marked the “Local Government Day” at COP29 China Pavilion, spotlighting the climate efforts of Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Guangdong Province. ICLEI played a significant role throughout the day, with the goal to foster city-to-city exchanges.
ICLEI is bringing together innovative mechanisms that link local climate emergency action to national and global efforts.
ICLEI leaders brought our messages to a wider audience so that what is happening at COP29 can be heard on a global stage:
At the Earth Summit in 1992, nine stakeholder groups—including local authorities—were designated as essential partners in implementing the global sustainability agenda, particularly in the Rio Conventions focusing on climate (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD) and desertification (UNCCD). The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency (LGMA) comprises networks of local and regional governments and has served as the voice of cities and regions, achieving advocacy success for multilevel action in the climate, nature, and desertification processes.
ICLEI holds a special role in this space, acting as the LGMA Focal Point. Through concerted leadership within the LGMA community in the past 30 years, we have secured wins in multiple climate COP outcomes, including specific references to multilevel action and urbanization throughout the negotiated outcomes, voluntary outcomes, official agendas and stated priorities of the climate COPs.
The LGMA released a joint outcomes statement for COP29: While Baku delivered the bare minimum, multilevel action is more vital than ever to keep climate ambition on track, which ICLEI supported.
As COP29 concludes, this video highlights the pivotal role of local and regional governments in shaping the global climate agenda. Discover key moments, groundbreaking initiatives like the CHAMP partnership, and the significant outcomes of this year’s summit.
WATCHOn behalf of the LGMA, political leaders and representatives delivered several interventions throughout the duration of COP29. From the COP29 Opening Plenary, the third Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change to the Closing Plenary, our leaders spoke loud and clear.
LEARN MOREThroughout the two weeks of COP, our on-the-groud daily updates from the LGMA Constituency provided exclusive coverage of the city and region climate agenda, negotiation progress, announcements, and interviews. Explore our past issues directly from the Climate Conference.
READHosted by Yunus Arikan, ICLEI Director of Global Advocacy and LGMA Focal Point, this webinar will offer you insights from COP29 outcomes and its implications for cities, regions and other subnationals as we look ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in 2025.
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ICLEI and The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations entity responsible for sustainable urbanization, hosted a joint pavilion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Multilevel Action & Urbanization Pavilion served as the global stage for the city and subnational climate agenda at COP29. The Pavilion brought into focus not only the challenges and needs, but also the accomplishments and commitments of local and subnational actors on climate action.
The Pavilion was co-convened by UN-Habitat and ICLEI in its role as the focal point of the LGMA Constituency. The Pavilion is co-hosted by Azerbaijan State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture (SCUPA); the ILBANK, development and investment bank of local authorities in Türkiye, with the support of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change; Zero Waste Foundation; and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
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A key element of Daring Cities 2024 was to bring the outcomes of the forum to COP29. Local and regional leaders advocated for the outcomes to find their way into the result of the event. The key outcomes indicate that cities and regions:
We ask our fellow local and regional governments, communities and stakeholders at large and national governments and the intergovernmental community, to engage with and work towards these key findings.
Daring Cities 2024 Key FindingsEmani works with all the offices in Asia, to ensure cohesion in the implementation of ICLEI’s agendas and spearhead advocacy activities in the region. Emani has a background in environmental management and planning and more than twenty years of experience in climate change policy and planning, local governance, renewable energy, systems management and auditing.
South Asia Secretariat
C-3, Lower Ground Floor
Green Park Extension
New Delhi – 110016, India Tel. +91 – 11 – 4974 7200 Fax +91 – 11 – 4974 7201
Africa Secretariat
South Tower Sable Park, 14 Bridge Boulevard
Century City, Cape Town, South Africa
Email: iclei-africa@iclei.org
USA Office
1536 Wynkoop St., Suite 901
Denver, Colorado, 80202USA
Email: iclei-usa@iclei.org
Japan Office
Shimbashi SY Building 4F 1-14-2 Nishi-Shimbashi Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-0003,Japan
Email: iclei-japan@iclei.org
East Asia Secretariat
14/F, Seoul Global Center Building 38 Jongno, Jongno-gu,
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Email: iclei-sea@iclei.org
South America Secretariat
Rua Marquês de Itu,
São Paulo, SP, Brasil
Email: iclei-sams@iclei.org
Central America & Caribbean Secretariat
Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas 13Building Miguel Abed, Floor 5 Of. 506 and 507,Col. Centro, CP 06050 Del.Cuauhtemoc,
Mexico City, Mexico
Email: iclei-mexico@iclei.org
Yunus leads the global advocacy team at ICLEI. Since 2013, he has led global advocacy towards international bodies and multilateral agreements. Yunus helped establish the Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and Reporting – carbonn – and served as the Director of the Secretariat for the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. He has a background in environmental engineering.
Joseph leads the ICLEI Knowledge Management & Global Events team. He manages the strategic development of data and knowledge management systems used by the global organization, and advises on the development and use of sustainability indicators and performance reporting systems. Joseph has also coordinated several of global conferences at ICLEI. He has a background in environmental governance.
Ariel Dekovic is a nonprofit marketing and program development expert with a strong track record of organizational management and community engagement. For over 15 years, she has worked strategically to raise the impact and brand awareness for global organizations in such diverse fields as sustainability, food policy, water management, arts and education. Ariel has an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a BA from Vassar College.
Pourya coordinates the research activities at the World Secretariat. He manages, supervises, and coordinates research projects for ICLEI, Chief among them the IFWEN project. Pourya is also the coordinator of ICLEI Global Research. Graduated from the Technical University of Munich and with more than 8 years of professional experience, Pourya represents ICLEI in research-related spaces and is a member of GCoM’s Research & Innovation Technical Working Group.
Matteo is a social media and communication professional with experience in international and governmental organizations in Europe and the US. With a background on economics, politics and rehabilitation support for disabled children, Matteo is committed to fostering inclusive climate action that leaves no one behind. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations & a Bachelor’s in Economics.
Barbara Riedemann is a journalist with over ten years of experience creating and editing print and digital media content. She has worked in the private media sector and governmental institutions. She is currently a communication master’s student at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
Karishma supports project coordination, climate research, and communication for integrated climate and energy action, supporting sub-national governments to achieve climate neutrality. She also supports ICLEI’s GreenClimateCities (GCC) Program and the Solutions Gateway. Karishma is experienced in working on sustainable urban energy transition, spatial planning and youth engagement in climate policy. She has a background in urbanism and architecture with professional work experience in the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.
Johanna supports the planning and implementation of ICLEI’s global events, ranging from event logistics and technical preparations to participant support and communications. Her previous experience includes policy analysis and event planning with the Canadian federal government. Johanna’s academic background is in environmental management and the relationship between circular economy and biodiversity.
Catalina supports the planning and implementation ICLEI’s global events, mainly focusing on virtual events. She has experience in events management, as well as in communications and recruitment. Catalina has a background in migration and development studies and public policy.