Cop28: What happened at the Local Climate Action Summit?

The second day of the summit kicked off with the Mayors Innovation Studio, where Bloomberg Philanthropies gathered more than 150 mayors from 55 countries. The Mayors Innovation Studio marked the launch of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Climate Action Fund, providing technical assistance and funding to support mayors worldwide in engaging tens of thousands of youths aged 15 to 24 in designing, producing, and overseeing urgent climate solutions, from tree-planting to policy-making.

Efforts stemming from the Youth Climate Action Fund are expected to ignite awareness and action in communities to advance climate goals as critical as meeting decarbonisation and reducing consumption-based emissions.

Key announcements

Following an announcement from Bloomberg Philanthropies about a new $65m commitment  in support of local leadership around the world, the second day of LCAS saw more than 40 announcements and new research about local climate action and the impact of climate change on subnationals, including:

• The  All-In Climate Pathway: Key Policy Levers for 1.5C-Aligned Action report detailed an “all-in” climate strategy that fuses national with subnational and all-of-society action can keep global climate goals—including 1.5°C – within reach
• Breathe Cities unveiled a new cohort of cities to join the $30m initiative to fight air pollution. The new cohort of cities will receive funding, technical support, air quality data, community engagement, capacity building, and more as part of the Breathe Cities initiative supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Clean Air Fund, and C40 Cities
• The Subnational Climate Action Leaders’ Exchange (Scale) marked its first year with the launch of Low-Methane, a new initiative to jumpstart a dramatic scale-up of global action to cut methane emissions from the waste sector
• The President of the Inter-American Development Bank announced a $372m commitment through the Too Good To Waste Initiative
• The Urban Nature programme was launched as the largest coalition of actors committed to advancing Nature-positive development in cities and regions. Co-led by the World Bank through its Global Platform for Sustainable Cities, the UN Environment Programme (Unep), and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the initiative will provide financial and technical assistance to accelerate investments in nature in urban areas
• Governor Raquel Lyra of Pernambuco announced funding by the UK to support five states in Brazil taking climate action to assist the delivery of the forthcoming National Adaptation Plan, which prioritises an integrated approach by cities and states to adaptation
• The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance, C40 Cities, and the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) published Accelerating Urban Climate Finance in Low-and Middle-Income Economies: A Strategic Component of MDB Reform, a first-of-its-kind assessment of MDBs’ contributions to urban climate finance in low- and middle-income Countries and explores opportunities for them to accelerate urban climate finance. The report presents a comprehensive picture of the current landscape of MDBs’ contributions to urban climate finance and presents recommendations on how they can play an even more significant role in financing urban climate projects
• The World Resources Institute (WRI) revealed the significant impact of rising global temperatures on urban residents’ vulnerability to extreme heat, demonstrating the challenges of a warmer world. According to their research, The Future of Extreme Heat in Cities: What We Know – and What We Don’t, nearly three times as many cities would experience 150 or more days each year where temperatures soar to life-threatening levels under a 3°C world in comparison to a 1.5°C world. WRI also released the Multi-level Governance Atlas, showcasing over 100 global examples of how multi-level governance can facilitate and drive climate action
• An Expert Group convened by GCoM and WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities released Integrity Matters for Cities, States & Regions, a report with recommendations for subnational governments to ensure the credibility, accountability, and transparency of their net-zero commitments while acknowledging their varied capacities and characteristics
• The State of California (US), Under2 Coalition North America co-chair, formally launched the Subnational Methane Action Coalition with state and regional leaders from across the world to reduce methane emissions at the regional level, helping to advance countries’ collective aim of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees
• Mayor Eduardo Paes of Rio de Janeiro announced support from Brazil’s National Front of Mayors, Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (FNP), for the Coalition for High Ambition Multi-level Partnerships (Champ). Champ is a new initiative from the UAE Cop28 presidency with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies to accelerate multilevel climate action from national and subnational governments
• The Urban Content of the NDCs: Country Briefs and Deep-Dive Analyses 2023 was published by the UN-Habitat, University of Southern Denmark, and the United Nations Development Programme. This in-depth analysis of NDCs included policy guidance for governments, practitioners, and development organisations working on NDC design and implementation strategies
• ​​15 government leaders representing regions in Africa, Australia, Europe, and North and South America signed on to the Mediterranean Climate Action Partnership (MCAP), jointly recognising that building resilience to the increasingly disruptive impacts from climate change requires innovative solutions
• Under2 Coalition Asia-Pacific co-chair, Chungnam Province (South Korea), announced it is launching a Governors and Premiers Partnership to enhance subnational climate diplomacy efforts. The aim is to spearhead and raise ambition for climate action at the state and regional level while improving collaboration between subnational partners.

The summit laid the groundwork for continued, comprehensive involvement in the upcoming Cop28 Ministerial Meeting on Urbanisation and Climate Change on 6 December, held in partnership with UN-Habitat, which will convene ministers, local leaders, and other key stakeholders around accelerating local finance.