Welcome to the latest edition of the LGMA bulletin!
On 5 June, during World Environment Day, through Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues, the LGMA community actively engaged at the UN Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB60). Activities included the CHAMP Endorsers Roundtable, dialogues with the COP28 and COP29 UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, and the launch of the UN-Habitat's report in support of advancing urban contents of NDCs by 2025. Most notably, we saw the release of the Call-to-Action to support national CHAMP implementation, with Germany, Brazil, and the US national local government associations as the first responders.
São Paulo became the center of gravity for local action in the third week of June, with numerous meetings hosted by U20, Metropolis, and ICLEI.
These fruitful outcomes generated the necessary momentum for ambitious and harmonized LGMA engagement in preparation for a very busy agenda in the second half of 2024, including COPs of three Rio Conventions in Cali, Baku, and Riyadh, the UN Summit of the Future in New York, and the World Urban Forum in Cairo.
On World Environment Day on 5 June, UN-Habitat and partners launched a new report on the importance of enhancing urban content in countries’ NDCs submissions by 2025. Analyzing the climate commitments of 194 countries, only 27 per cent of NDCs had a strong urban content; the remaining include moderate to no urban mentions.
As the SB60 set the stage for COP29, global city representatives shared concrete examples of multilevel governance and partnership for enhanced climate action between national and local governments.
Part of Daring Cities 2024, a dedicated roundtable discussed progress of CHAMP on enhancing cooperation between national and local governments, emphasizing the need to integrate local efforts into national plans and the NDCs.
Developed by the IPCC, the report explores the unique challenges and opportunities for urban areas in addressing climate change. It will cover urban climate risks, mitigation and adaptation strategies, and the integration of sustainable development goals. It includes a timeline for completion, budget requirements, and emphasizes collaborative efforts for a comprehensive assessment of climate resilience and sustainable urban development.
Cities can leverage synergies between climate change and the SDGs through demand-side solutions, including cooling, building energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, and waste management. This report highlights practical measures, governance reforms, and cross-sectoral collaborations necessary for cities to achieve these dual objectives. It also showcases examples and offers strategic recommendations, illustrating how cities can become resilient, inclusive, and sustainable while meeting climate targets.
Elected by the General Assembly on 7 June 2024, following a nomination by the UN Secretary-General, Rossbach will serve a four-year term at the Under-Secretary-General level. She succeeds Maimunah Mohd Sharif, who served from 2018 to 2024. Rossbach brings over 20 years of experience in housing, land, and urban policies, having held significant roles at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cities Alliance, and the World Bank, where has been instrumental in various high-impact projects and global discussions on urban development.
Delivered by Karishma Asarpota, Climate Action Officer at ICLEI, the LGMA opening remarks highlighted the successful integration of urbanization and multilevel action in the Paris Agreement's second phase, evidenced by COP28 outcomes. Paragraph 161 of the GST Decision and the CHAMP Initiative underscore this progress. Since COP28, the LGMA has promoted multilevel climate action globally, engaging with ministers, UN bodies, finance institutions, and local climate initiatives, and calls on all UNFCCC Parties to enhance financial contributions to sustain this momentum.
Building on the outcomes from Dubai and preparing decisions for Baku in November, over 6,000 national delegates and civil society representatives attended these discussions during the first two weeks of June. Read our insights and watch these two videos in which Yunus Arikan reflects on the role of cities and regions during Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues and the SB60 sessions.
Over 1200 attendees joined the Opening Ceremony of ICLEI World Congress 2024, which celebrated the role that global networks play in accelerating ambitious action on sustainable development. Jader Barbalho Filho, Brazil’s Minister of Cities, emphasized the importance of multilevel action at all levels of government to mobilize climate action.
With the upcoming CBD COP16 in Colombia and UNFCCC COP30 in Brazil, this ICLEI World Congress 2024 plenary explored the interplay between climate and nature agendas and their impacts on policymaking. The discussion featured interventions from Razan Al Mubarak, COP28 UN Climate Change High-Level Champion and IUCN President; Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Special Advisor to COP29 Presidency, alongside ICLEI Members and experts. Watch the replay here.
Led by Yunus Arikan, ICLEI’s Director of Global Advocacy, these monthly webinars provide tailored content to support local governments in advocacy efforts and preparation for COP29. Join at 10:00 and 16:00 CE(S)T each month. Next webinar: 3 July. See last month’s recording and presentation.
The U20 urges G20 leaders to enhance social inclusion, ensure access to nutritious food, support just transitions in energy and jobs, reform financial structures to address urban finance gaps, and establish City Guarantee Funds to support local initiatives and ensure cities benefit from new Loss and Damage Funds.
Co-convened by C40 Cities and UCLG, the Summit gathered 30 cities in São Paulo to discuss global challenges such as social inclusion, hunger, poverty, sustainable development, and global governance reform. Mayors proposed strenghtening national climate plan and urban finance guarantee funds.
At the G7 Summit in Italy, from 13-15 June, heads of state discussed pressing international topics relevant to local and regional authorities, including climate change, economic security, and energy. Following the Summit, Urban7 leaders called on G7 to include local governments through a multilevel approach when shaping international agreements with local relevance. This is essential for achieving "progress towards an equitable world" in a rapidly urbanizing society.
