ICLEI formalized a Cooperation Agreement between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network at COP28 on 3 December 2023.
The partnership focuses on empowering communities and scaling up climate action, prioritizing the reduction of climate-induced risks in urban areas, with special attention to vulnerable groups and critical infrastructure.
Signed today at COP28 between Xavier Castellanos Mosquera, IFRC Under Secretary General for National Society Development and Operations, and Gino van Begin, ICLEI Secretary General, the Agreement formalizes an already strong relationship.
“Our commitment to collaborate is well-timed with the historic agreement to operationalize the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements on Day 1 of this COP. This is an area that we would like to explore with IFRC so that we may jointly, and with other actors in our respective networks, work towards ensuring that these funds reach the most affected local governments and communities,” said ICLEI Secretary General Gino van Begin.
On the sidelines of the UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai, ICLEI and IFRC reaffirmed their joint commitments to:
- Advocate with a united voice for a just transition, that protects the interests of local communities and vulnerable groups and empowers local and regional governments to implement climate and disaster related policies and actions for an equitable, nature-positive, and sustainable future.
- Promote multilevel action by enabling greater collaboration between local governments and IFRC’s National Societies, strengthening existing partnerships, and leveraging capacities and resources across scales to jointly work on reducing climate and disaster risks and improving early warning systems to enhance resilience, especially in vulnerable neighborhoods.
- Scale up local climate action through IFRC’s and ICLEI’s networks at the global, national, local and community levels to leverage resources and create synergies across scales that unlock additional resources through coalitions with further stakeholders and engagement across sectors.
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