CEMR joins 80 networks and calls for COP31 to empower cities and regions as key drivers of global climate implementation

CEMR stands among the more than 80 networks of local and subnational governments that have endorsed the COP31 Position of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency, the formally recognised voice of local, regional and subnational governments in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. 

Together, they represent tens of thousands of governments worldwide and share the same messages: the Paris Agreement will only be delivered through the engagement of all levels of government. They call for COP31 to empower cities, regions and states as key drivers of global climate implementation. 

COP31 opens in Antalya (Türkiye) on 9 November under new scientific reports that the planet is set to cross 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next few years. The outcomes of COP will determine how high the peak goes, how long it lasts and who delivers the return trajectory to 1.5°C. 

LGMA six calls 

The COP 31 Position sets out six calls: 

1. Achieving an energy transition outcome that accelerates subnational delivery to return to the 1.5°C pathway;  

2. Prioritising an ambitious outcome on just transition to ensure national outcomes are rooted in local needs and realities and deliver tangible benefits that reach workers and communities at the local level; 

3. Institutionalising multilevel climate finance architectures that reach the subnational level, through country platforms, public development banks and funded project preparation; 

4. Continuing to uphold the key role of independent science in the COP process, including the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Cities;  

5. Creating a single formal space for Parties and subnational governments to address the barriers to multilevel action; 

6. Accelerating the implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation and National Adaptation Plans through integrated local action. 

A Guidance for Negotiators accompanies the Position with proposed negotiating text on ten priority topics. 

This LGMA Position serves as the basis for our interventions and advocacy leading up to and at COP31. It is integrated into the LGMA longer-term advocacy strategy towards COP32 and COP33. 

Local leaders at COP31 

A dozen of local leaders representing CEMR members and PLATFORMA partners are heading to COP to defend the voice of local and regional governments in climate action. 

Among others, they will attend several high-level events led by UCLG and the Global Task Force of local and regional governments, as well as by the LGMA. 

On 12 November, CEMR and PLATFORMA are organising a side event on UCLG’s pavilion “From COP to 2030 and Beyond: Local and Regional Governments Building the Future of Climate Governance”.

CEMR and PLATFORMA are also organising a Town Hall COP online event on 18 November (15.00-15h30 CET) on “Resilient cities for a changing climate: from COP commitments to local action”. 

Watch the video by Gary Robinson, CEMR spokesperson on environment, Councillor of Shetland Islands Council (COSLA).

(Photo: © UN Climate Change – Kiara Worth)