Good morning. I am Asif Shah, from the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and C40 Cities, speaking on behalf of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) constituency.
We welcome the COP30 presidency’s efforts to put the subnational and local governments at the heart of the climate agenda as we move to the implementation phase of the Paris Agreement. Indeed, implementation happens locally, in our communities, cities, regions, and states. And for COP30 to deliver a strong legacy, we must bridge the gap between national commitments and subnational action.
This urgency was powerfully demonstrated just last week at the Local Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro. The Forum brought together nearly 3,000 mayors, governors, and subnational leaders, culminating in the Local Leaders Joint Outcome Statement—an offer of action backed by representatives of over 14,000 cities and regions.
Coming to Belem and to concrete COP30 outcomes, we are encouraged by a growing recognition of our role.
The findings of the 2025 NDC Synthesis report highlights that four out of five NDCs 3.0 reference subnational entities, an increase of 19 percent compared with previous national plans, thus underscoring that, while it is nations who commit to climate targets, it is often local and regional authorities that must deliver them.
In addition, the upcoming IPCC Special Report on Cities agreed by the IPCC Plenary in 2016 will be the first Special Report of the AR7 Cycle.
The COP30 Special Envoy for Urban Solutions proposal to create a One-Stop-Shop information portal, in collaboration with the LGMA, mapping milestones and decisions under the UNFCCC process with a view to help all Parties and stakeholders to take a more systemic approach to urban and multi-level climate action.
And finally, the summary of chair of the High-Level Ministerial on Urbanisation and Climate Change, proposes to strengthen the participation of subnational and local governments in the UNFCCC processes.
Having considered this momentum, the LGMA COP30 position paper and the outcomes of the 2025 Local Leaders Forum, the Local Government and Municipal Authorities Constituency calls on Parties to leave a strong multilevel and urban legacy from COP30, including through a mandated dialogue to involve subnational and local governments in the UNFCCC process, as requested in the summary of the the summary of chair of the High-Level Ministerial on Urbanisation and Climate Change.
We believe this text could be incorporated into the outcomes of “the COP30 Presidency Consultations on NDCs, BRTS, Art9, UTM”.
This ask represents an offer and opportunity for partnership – by supporting this dialogue, we can turn your vision of unity across all levels of government into a more sustainable and impactful mechanism for global climate action.
Thank you.
