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Cities & Regions

Spotlight on the SURGe Initiative

It’s clear that we need effective multi-level governance to transform cities. To achieve this vision, the COP27 Presidency has launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) Initiative with the objective to enhance and accelerate local and urban climate action through multi-level governance, engagement, and delivery through five integrated tracks, contributing to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.

The SURGe initiative is the product of robust stakeholder engagement under the leadership of the COP27 Presidency over the span of six months, engaging over 300 people and/or organizations. Yet, it is also the outcome of over ten years of LGMA advocacy to bridge climate and urban communities for a holistic and multilevel action (learn more about SURGe's background here and here).
 
Endorse SURGe
The SURGe Initiative is developed in collaboration with UN-Habitat and facilitated by ICLEI and has been endorsed by 70+ global partners.
SURGe will officially be launched at the

First-ever Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change

The Ministerial meeting will reinforce the commitment of the Paris Agreement for multilevel action and commit to accelerated climate action.

From the LGMA and partners

Urban Africa in Action at COP27
The Kenyan government presented its cutting edge 'building climate resilience for the urban poor' program, the first on the continent. It prioritizes combating urban poverty through nature-based solutions and resilience practices. ICLEI Africa committed to help Kenya to take this program to the world.
Urban7 shows strength in the G7 process
Sharing power through partnership, local leaders from Germany and Japan bridge their roles representing currrent and incoming G7 Presidencies in a session that offered a vision for multilevel collaboration. Mayors of Utrecht and Des Moines joined leaders from Mannheim, Tokorozawa, Yokohama and Sapporo to celebrate the Urban7's efforts in the G7 process.
Action Agenda launched for cities and business leaders
Following 70+ global consultations, the Summary for Urban Policymakers (SUP) initiative launched a companion series to the official IPCC Report that distills the latest climate change science for local governments.
 International climate and gender
Small scale feminist solutions need more visibility so they can be adequately scaled and replicated. Indeed, supporting women's participation and leadership in alternatives to extractive polluting economic activity often means supporting what women are already doing at the grassroots level.
EU Cities and Regions at COP27 
The CoR delegation met with EVP Frans Timmermans and key EU institutions, issuing a clear call for a stronger recognition of local and regional authorities in the COP27 conclusion documents.

Action Fund recipients announced 

ICLEI USA announced three awards of $1,000,000 that will go to non-governmental organizations working with U.S. cities to accelerate climate action through data-driven, highly replicable, and impactful projects. 
IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report session: rapid urbanization key for climate distress
This session highlighted the pressing need of tackling climate action by bringing together climate scientists, local and regional governments, and other relevant stakeholders in every region of the world.
Moroccan regions make history on net zero
Supported by FMDV & the Association of Regions of Morocco, all 12 regions of Morocco have signed the Global Climate Leadership MoU and committed to joining the Under2 Coalition, making the country and its 37.7 million inhabitants global champions for net-zero.

From the Media

African cities receive new funding to tackle water crisis
ICLEI and the World Resource Institute announced Monday that they would launch the African Cities Water Adaptation Fund (ACWA Fund) for water resilience efforts in Africa.
Subnational and federal collaboration with carbon markets
ICLEI Mayoral delegation met with the Council on Environmental Quality's Chair Mallory about the Biden Administration’s efforts to improve considerations of climate in infrastructure, and strategies to improve communications between the U.S. subnational and federal governments.
Warsaw’s mayor shares a different message than the Polish government during COP27 
“This should be the last COP without the cities sitting at the negotiating table, because we are responsible for implementing those measures,”  said Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.

Tweets of the day

Today’s Highlights

Action towards a zero-emission, circular, & resilient built environment and cities for everyone, everywhere

This event by the Marrakech Partnership will demonstrate recent signals of change from around the globe and the associated co-benefits, from job creation to reduced air pollution. Join in the Blue Zone (Ibis Room) or online.

How do African cities navigate complex decision making during the climate change emergency 

Sub-saharan Africa is the region most vulnerable to climate change impacts. This session will unpack the trade-offs that city decision makers face everyday and explore how these trade offs can be navigated in ways that empower those most vulnerable to climate change.

The Pact for the Future of PLANET: a strategic vision to realize multilevel climate action

Adopted at the 2022 UCLG World Congress in Daejeon, the Pact for the Future of Humanity puts the municipalist movement at the center of realizing a future based on caring, sharing and solidarity. This session discusses the Pact as a pathway to localize the Paris Agreement goals.

Accelerating Implementation of Climate Resilient Development

This session explores challenges, opportunities, and good practices on integrated climate-resilient development planning and implementation in the Global South. Further, there will be a discussion on guidelines and opportunities to access climate finance for subnational governments.

Nature-based solutions and circular strategies to address the climate emergency in Latin America

Join this event to learn how Latin American and the Caribbean political leaders are already addressing global warming with a concerted effort, acknowledging the climate emergency and developing solutions.
Full Pavilion agenda overview

Multilevel Action Pavilion partners

The LGMA Multilevel Action Pavilion, the home for local and regional governments in the UNFCCC COP27 Blue Zone, is hosting over 70 sessions of rich programming and meaningful dialogues showcasing that #MultilevelActionDelivers with support from over 40 organizations. 
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For any questions and support please email: cop27.pavilion@iclei.org.
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