While COP30 has been framed as a ‘COP of implementation’, C40 has argued that this will only be possible if cities and other sub-nationals are recognised as critical partners in planning and delivery.
Cities and sub-nationals are responsible for the majority of global emissions, the group noted, but are also responsible for the majority of real-world climate action.
By embedding subnational governments into decision-making, on-the-ground implementation could be scaled-up and expanded, representing a ‘win-win’ for governments and their national climate action plans, C40 noted.
‘Causes and consequences’
“Alongside hundreds of millions of city residents on the frontlines of the climate crisis, mayors are dealing with the causes and consequences of climate change everyday,” commented Caterina Sarfatti, managing director of C40 Cities.
“Local leaders like the mayors in the C40 network are peaking and reducing city emissions faster than national governments, they are building communities resilient to extreme heat and flooding, and they are creating millions of good green jobs every year. This is what people-centred climate delivery looks like. Cities have been asked to deliver on the ambition gap within national climate plans and we are more than doing so.”
Leading the charge
Recent examples of where cities are leading the charge for a just transition include in Guadalajara, Mexico, where heat mapping and greening initiatives are underway, and in Cape Town, South Africa, which is reducing water use through a programme focused on repairs and system management.
Other initiatives include the introduction of a ‘green shipping corridor’ in Los Angeles (pictured); a new electric bus rapid transit system in Dakar, Senegal; a green corridor for electric trucks between Rio and São Paulo; solar mini-grids in Johannesburg, and Amsterdam’s plan to shift 550,000 homes off fossil gas.
C40 also pointed to future efforts set to rollout in 2026, including efforts by Oslo and Copenhagen to reduce emissions from construction; Mumbai’s shift to a largely-electric bus fleet; an offshore wind farm in Tokyo that will power 900,000 homes; and São Paulo implementing its first climate budget.
“It is only right that subnational action is recognised in the outcomes of the key international negotiation on climate change,” Sarfatti added. “There won’t be a ‘COP of implementation’ without subnationals at the heart of it.” Read more here.
