Subnational leaders are gathering in Rio to bring local climate solutions and chart a path forward grounded in the Global Mutirão call for collective action.
From today, 3 November, mayors, governors, and subnational officials from around the world will convene in Rio for the COP30 Local Leaders Forum to showcase how local action is driving global climate progress and to advance a unified subnational climate agenda toward COP30 negotiations.
The COP30 Local Leaders Forum is co-hosted by the COP30 Presidency and Bloomberg Philanthropies, with support from leading international networks and institutions advancing local climate action. Among these, ICLEI will engage actively, with ICLEI President Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of Malmö, Sweden, serving as Co-Chair of the Forum. Over three days of high-level gatherings, the 16 Co-Chairs will guide the Forum’s vision, by mobilizing mayors, governors, and regional leaders to share solutions, strengthen partnerships, and advance a unified subnational climate agenda, extending from Rio to the COP30 negotiations.
Key events include the C40 World Mayors Summit, the Global States & Regions Summit, the Brazilian National Front of Mayors’ (FNP) 88th General Assembly, the America Is All In Solutions Exchange, the Amazon Cities Forum, and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Local Leaders Climate Awards, with 16 of the 26 finalists hailing from ICLEI Member cities. Winners will be announced on 4 November.
Under the Forum’s framework, ICLEI and the partners of the Cities & Regions Hub will promote an institutional moment to celebrate and welcome the network’s national and international delegations. The event is called From Rio to Belém: Cities & Regions Hub towards COP30 and takes place on 4 November, at 16:00 BRT. To attend, register here.
The Forum’s final day, on 5 November, ICLEI is partnering to offer Accelerating climate solutions for small and medium cities’ infrastructure to achieve SDG. Additionally, the day features two milestone events: the CHAMP High-level Political Dialogue and the Local Climate Action Summit, spotlighting how local governments turn climate ambition into results. In the spirit of COP30’s Global Mutirão, the Summit will reflect on progress, deliver recommendations for COP30 negotiations, and build momentum for bold climate action.
Explore the Forum’s full agenda and livestream details here.
In parallel to these events, from 3-5 November, the 4th National Meeting of the CB27 Forum 2025, co-hosted by ICLEI and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, will bring together representatives from Brazilian capitals, as well as local leaders from across South America, multilateral organizations, the private sector, academia, and civil society to strengthen multilateral commitments. Notably, the Meeting will prioritize the construction and approval of the CB27 Charter, a document that systematizes consensuses, priorities, and proposals from Brazilian capitals, to be delivered during COP30.
In conjunction with the COP30 Local Leaders Forum, the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities (GPSC), led by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC), will jointly organize a Mayors Round Table and Urban Nature Forum in Rio de Janeiro from 5-6 November. The events, which are organized in collaboration with ICLEI, UNEP, and C40, will provide a platform for high-level dialogue, peer learning, and technical exchange. It will position cities and local governments as key actors in achieving nature-positive, resilient, and inclusive development ahead of COP30, and mark the official launch of the GEF-8 Sustainable Cities Integrated Program (SCIP), a global initiative to help cities implement integrated solutions across climate, biodiversity, and the circular economy.
After the Forum ends, events continue in Rio up until COP. On 6 November, ICLEI is partnering on Mutirão at the City Level – How Climate Action Weeks & Town Hall COPs are Accelerating Local Climate Action, the Local Leaders Dialogue will take place in Rio de Janeiro to explore how Climate Action Weeks and ICLEI’s Town Hall COP Initiative are creating new dynamic platforms for collective action.
Aligned with the Global Mutirão, this timely dialogue will bring together representatives from Climate Action Weeks in Rio de Janeiro, London, Baku, Bangkok, and Sydney—along with debut cities planning their own Climate Action Weeks in 2026—and ICLEI experts driving Town Hall COPs, to share insights on how to move from negotiations to implementation from the ground-up. Register here to join in-person or online at 12:00 BRT / 16:00 CET.
Lastly, on 6 November, the Urban Transitions Mission (UTM) Global Innovation Summit 2025, will gather cities, investors, policymakers, development banks, and innovators shaping the future of sustainable urban finance. ICLEI is co-hosting with the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructures (CDRI) the session UTM in Action: Financing Urban Resilience – Nature, Risk, and Returns at 10:00 BRT / 14:00 CET.
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