2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference

27th Conference of the Parties | Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, | 6 November- 18 November 2022

The Multilevel Action Pavilion at COP27

The home in the Blue Zone for local and regional governments throughout the two weeks of COP27, the Multilevel Action Pavilion featured  70+ sessions pushing our advocacy agenda forward. The pavilion was possible thanks to continued support from the Scottish Government and in collaboration with the COP27 Presidency, the Egyptian Ministry of Housing, the Marrakech Partnership and LGMA Partners.

Making multilevel governance a success

At COP27, the LGMA called UNFCCC Parties to acknowledge that #MultilevelActionDelivers the Paris Agreement. Key asks from Parties at COP27 included:

  1. Endorse the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the next Generation (SURGe) Initiative, a multilevel climate governance initiative, focused on five tracks: buildings and housing; urban energy; urban waste/consumption; urban mobility; and urban water.
  2. Welcome the first-ever UNFCCC COP27 Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change.
  3. Mobilize Climate Emergency Finance to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement, including recognition of sustainable urbanization as a non-market mechanism under the Art 6.8, engaging subnational development banks, addressing loss-and-damage, and supporting project pipeline facilities.

The #MultiLevelActionDelivers Agenda for Sharm El Sheikh

We learned ahead of COP26 that multilevel action delivers ambition. By November 2021, more than 60 nations submitted stepped-up Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement predicated on the fact that, in whole or in part, subnational climate action made it possible to increase ambition. More than 1,000 local governments are proceeding toward climate neutrality through initiatives such as the Race-To-Zero, Race-To-Resilience, and Thematic Climate Action Pathways. For COP27, we linked-up the multilevel approach with more nations, helped our local governments continue to implement climate-neutrality pledges, created a system-wide approach through legislative-executive-judicial stakeholders collaboration, and energized the UNFCCC Friends of Multilevel Action.

Despite COP26’s success, several key areas of work remain unfinalized. Food, nature, adaptation, culture, finance (particularly Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement), circular economy, 1.5-dgree C lifestyles, blue economy, buildings, mobility, waste & consumption, and energy were not sufficiently addressed but remain as immensely supportive themes, particularly around implementation. Climate migration has been largely untouched in negotiations but is already being managed at the local level. And after another year of deadly extreme weather events, issues around loss and damage must be addressed. We will work to connect the LGMA to the Climate Vulnerable Forum.

For two years, the LGMA has advocated for ministerial-level moments focused on climate and urban places. We are encouraged that the first-ever Climate & Urbanization Ministerial was announced and we will fully support its success. As we expect a growing reference to urbanization, we will work to intitute4 this theme into all agendas of the UNFCCC and ensure the Climate & Urbanization Ministerial continues as an annual fixture at the COPs. In addition, the LGMA is offered a unique experience this year to collaborate with the COP27 Presidency and UN agencies on a Sustainable Cities Initiative. We are committed to making this among the strongest workstreams at COP.

Egypt has always existed at a unique crossroads connecting the African continent, Mediterranean, and Middle East regions. As every COP is a regional mobilization, we used this COP to elevate the voices and roles of the nations and people operating in these regions.

Toward #MultiLevelActionDelivers: Latest Successes

For the LGMA, the annual COP serves as only one moment in a busy calendar. We demonstrate multilevel action delivers all year long. At the Bonn Climate Conference 6 to 16 June 2022, one major outcome was the UNFCCC’s recognition that the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake can be a local-level process culminating at COP28 this year. During World Urban Forum in Kotawice, Poland, from 26 to 30 June 2022, the LGMA presented Sharon Dijksma, Mayor of Utrecht, the Netherlands, as the Special Envoy for COP27 Ministerials and Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen, Morocco, as the Special Envoy for Africa for COP27.