Thank you, Chair.
I am Muni Reddy, CEO of Nadi Town Council, speaking on behalf of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency. It is an honor to welcome you to Nadi, and to speak as a local leader whose community lives these realities.
The Paris Agreement will only be delivered through the engagement of all levels of government. Local, regional and subnational governments implement between 70% and 80% of the actions needed to deliver it. With UNEP concluding that exceeding 1.5°C is now unavoidable, we know what lies ahead: difficult decisions about what to protect, what to rebuild differently and what becomes of places that may become uninhabitable.
The next phase must be implementation. Yet subnational governments often have plans and priorities but lack the mandates, fiscal systems and access to investment needed to deliver them.
At COP31, we call for:
First, an energy transition outcome that recognizes and accelerates subnational delivery to return to the 1.5°C pathway.
Second, an ambitious just transition outcome, with meaningful subnational representation in the Belém-Antalya Mechanism.
Third, multilevel climate finance, institutionalized through country-owned architectures that empower subnational governments.
Fourth, a continued commitment to independent science, including the upcoming IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities.
Fifth, a systematic, joint space for Parties and subnational governments to discuss barriers to multilevel action, as part of the Second Global Stocktake.
And sixth, accelerated implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation and National Adaptation Plans through integrated local action.
Thank you, Chair.
I am Muni Reddy, CEO of Nadi Town Council, speaking on behalf of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency. It is an honor to welcome you to Nadi, and to speak as a local leader whose community lives these realities.
The Paris Agreement will only be delivered through the engagement of all levels of government. Local, regional and subnational governments implement between 70% and 80% of the actions needed to deliver it. With UNEP concluding that exceeding 1.5°C is now unavoidable, we know what lies ahead: difficult decisions about what to protect, what to rebuild differently and what becomes of places that may become uninhabitable.
The next phase must be implementation. Yet subnational governments often have plans and priorities but lack the mandates, fiscal systems and access to investment needed to deliver them.
At COP31, we call for:
First, an energy transition outcome that recognizes and accelerates subnational delivery to return to the 1.5°C pathway.
Second, an ambitious just transition outcome, with meaningful subnational representation in the Belém-Antalya Mechanism.
Third, multilevel climate finance, institutionalized through country-owned architectures that empower subnational governments.
Fourth, a continued commitment to independent science, including the upcoming IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities.
Fifth, a systematic, joint space for Parties and subnational governments to discuss barriers to multilevel action, as part of the Second Global Stocktake.
And sixth, accelerated implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation and National Adaptation Plans through integrated local action.
We stand ready as essential partners. With the window to limit overshoot of 1.5°C closing, the time to work together is now.
