The LGMA COP31 Position
Key messages for COP31 from the LGMA
The Paris Agreement will only be delivered through the engagement of all levels of government. The LGMA Constituency calls for COP31 to empower cities, regions and states as key drivers of global climate implementation.
The multilateral process has built ambition through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Global Stocktake and COP outcomes. Local, regional and subnational governments implement between 70% and 80% of the actions needed to deliver the Paris Agreement. That delivery capacity remains largely excluded from the structures of the multilateral process. Our Position sets out what Parties can do about this at COP31.
Our Position serves as the basis for our interventions and advocacy leading up to and at COP31. It is integrated into our longer-term advocacy strategy towards COP32 and COP33.
Our six asks for COP31
Parties should embed clean energy electrification at the local, regional and subnational level, renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency strategies, and resilient, efficient urban and regional systems and land-use planning into the Belém Mission to 1.5, the Global Implementation Accelerator (GIA) and NDC 3.0 implementation. This means granting local, regional and subnational governments the mandate, finance and regulatory authority to drive the managed transition away from fossil fuels.
This includes meaningful subnational representation in the Belém-Antalya Mechanism for Global Just Transitions, to ensure national outcomes are rooted in local needs and realities and deliver tangible benefits that reach workers and communities at the local level.
Local, regional and subnational governments need to mobilize additional resources, expand fiscal space and access predictable, affordable finance. That requires inclusive country platforms, dedicated financial intermediation such as national and subnational public development banks, and funded expert project preparation. Multilevel finance access should be a core implementation principle across the Climate Finance Work Programme, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, the Global Goal on Adaptation and the Climate Implementation Bridge, , alongside strengthening the institutional and technical capacity of subnational governments to develop investment-ready projects and aggregate local priorities into scalable investment pipelines.
This includes drawing on the upcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, and ensuring that subnational contributions are reflected in the Second Global Stocktake.
The Paris Agreement preamble already acknowledges that implementation requires all levels of government. This space should be created within an appropriate timeframe, in response to the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and as part of the Second Global Stocktake.
This means strengthening their alignment with integrated local action that connects climate, biodiversity, water, land use and public health. It requires predictable adaptation finance, stronger risk assessments, expanded early warning systems, technical support to subnational governments, and a Global Goal on Adaptation framework whose indicators measure progress at all levels of government.
Guidance Document for the LGMA COP31 Joint Position
The LGMA Guidance for COP30 Negotiators contains comprehensive background material and proposed text to the negotiators on what local and other subnational governments can offer to the COP30 outcomes. The Guidance is meant to accompany the LGMA COP30 Joint Position and contains topics directly relevant to negotiations at COP30.
Compendium of National Mobilization Strategies
The Compendium of National Mobilization Strategies is a complementary guidance document to the LGMA Joint COP30 Position and Guidance Document for Negotiators. This resource strengthens collaboration between all levels of government on the road to COP30. The publication highlights how local and regional governments are shaping more ambitious and inclusive national climate plans and showcases practical examples of multilevel cooperation already driving implementation worldwide.
Endorsers of the LGMA COP30 Joint Position
The position has been endorsed by more than 50 networks of local and subnational governments, with the final list to be announced at the LGMA COP30 Press Conference in Belém on 10 November.
Click to expand the full list
- Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF)
- ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
- C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
- The Council of European Municipal Cities and Regions (CCRE-CEMR)
- Global Fund for Cities Development (FMDV)
- European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
- Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCOM)
- Regions4
- United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)
- Under2 Coalition
- Association For Promotion Sustainable Development
- Concito
- Rural Infrastructure & Human Resource Development Organization (RIHRDO)
- Associação Brasileira de Municípios (ABM)
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
- International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP)
- Associação Nacional de Municípios e Meio Ambiente (ANAMMA)
- Climate Alliance
- Association Internationale des Maires Francophones
- Cités Unies France
- United Cities and Local Governments – Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA)
- Global Cities Hub
- Assembly of European Regions
- Comida do Amanhã
- Mayors Migration Council
- East African County and Local Governments Association (EACLGA)
- Organization of United Regions / Global Forum of Regional Governments and Associations of Regions (ORU FOGAR)
- European Committee of the Regions
- US National League of Cities
- Brazilian National Front of Mayors (FNP) – Frente Nacional de Prefeitas e Prefeitos
- Healthy Cities National Network of Turkiye
- KS – The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities
- Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA)
- Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA)
- Climate Heritage Network
- Association of German Cities – Deutscher Städtetag
- Core Cities UK
- Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR)
- Union of Coastal Aegean Municipalities (KEBB)
- The Japan Designated Cities Mayors Association (JDCMA)
- Rwanda Association Of Local Government Authorities (RALGA)
- Association des Grandes Villes de Madagascar
- Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)
- B40 Balkan Cities Network
- Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA)
- South African Local Government Association (SALGA)
- Association Of Local Governments Of Nigeria (ALGON), Cross River State Chapter
- Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (TBB/UMT)
- United Cities and Local Governments – Asia-Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC)
- Local Government Association of South Australia
- Urban Transitions Mission
LGMA COP30 Vision
At the Bonn Climate Talks (SB62) in June 2025, the LGMA Constituency announced its COP30 Vision. Aimed at rallying for Local-to-Global-COP30 and beyond, it included perspectives for national mobilization before Belém, engagement at COP30 negotiations in Belém, and shaping a multilevel governance beyond Belém. Therefore, our vision primarily responds to our agenda in Belém.
COP30 negotiations updates
How we will use the Position
The Position is our unified message into COP31. We use it to engage Parties, the COP Presidency, CHAMP endorsers, the UNFCCC Secretariat, other constituencies, other UN agencies, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, and the High-Level Climate Champions.
It is the basis for our engagement and interventions across negotiation tracks, and the anchor for our presence on other COP31 platforms, including side events and media outreach.
The endorsement campaign demonstrates the strength and unity of the Constituency behind the Position. The Guidance for Negotiators provides the detailed back-up, including proposed text, for political statements and asks.
Endorse the Position
The LGMA Constituency is seeking endorsing organizations for our Position towards COP31. The LGMA COP31 Position is open for endorsements by networks of local and subnational governments. Endorsement is a simple process of filling out a form and sending your organization’s logo in high resolution for use on the endorsers page.
Cities and other subnational governments who support the Position are invited to approach their national, regional, or global networks to encourage them to endorse the Position.
The deadline for endorsement is 5 October 2026. For further questions or if you encounter problems in accessing the form, please contact lgma@iclei.org.
Why this matters at COP31
Across the globe, local, regional and subnational governments are already showing what is possible. In countries that have endorsed CHAMP, local government climate commitments could close 37% of the gap between current NDCs and a Paris-aligned trajectory by 2030. A recent UN-Habitat report shows that 80% of submitted NDCs feature well-developed urban content, but these plans still need to be implemented in consultation with subnational governments. More systematic engagement produces better plans, better territorial information, earlier identification of implementation barriers and stronger national reporting under the Enhanced Transparency Framework. And because subnational governments already handle much of the climate-relevant public investment in many countries, unlocking their access to finance is a direct lever for Parties to close their own NDC financing gaps.
COP31 offers many concrete openings to act on this: the Global Implementation Accelerator, the Belém Mission to 1.5, the COP31 Action Agenda with its focus on electrification, waste reduction and resilient cities, the Belém-Antalya Mechanism, the Climate Finance Work Programme, the Veredas Dialogue on Article 2.1(c), the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, the annual Global Stocktake and NDC Dialogue, and the Global Goal on Adaptation indicators. COP31 also follows the UNCCD COP17 and the CBD COP17 this year, and the Rio Conventions’ growing work on synergies is an opportunity to align NDCs, National Adaptation Plans, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and land degradation neutrality targets in the same territories that local, regional and subnational governments plan and manage.
