Some 95% of city climate targets set in the past decade have been found to exceed prevailing national ambition, a new report by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) has found.
The 2026 GCoM Impact Report, which was launched at COP31, found that around three fifths (58%) of GCoM signatories, encompassing more than 8,000 local authorities, are adopting more ambitious emissions-reduction targets than their national governments.
In addition, 28% aim to achieve their targets sooner than their respective national governments.
‘Pacesetters for action’
“Over the last ten years, cities and local governments have proven that when they lead, the world moves to catch up with them,” commented Anne Hidalgo, global ambassador, GCoM.
“The 2026 GCoM Impact Report is proof that city ambition hasn’t fallen; national commitments have risen. Local governments are the pacesetters for climate and energy action, continuing to go further and faster.”
According to the report, GCoM signatories have the potential to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 4.8 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2050.
Since its establishment in 2016, GCoM has doubled in size, to encompass 14,000 cities and local governments, with 7,500 of these having climate actions in place, and more than 220,000 mitigation actions having been reported.
In addition, the number of signatories with net-zero targets and accompanying implementation pathways increased from 211 in 2025 to 580 in 2026. Allied to this, some 3,078 cities have completed climate risk assessments covering approximately 735 million people.
Access to finance
At the same time, access to finance remains a barrier to implementation, particularly for GCoM signatories in emerging and developing economies. Of the $831 billion in annual urban climate finance tracked by the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance, just 1% is directed towards adaptation.
Some 61% of GCoM signatories live in the Global South, while smaller municipalities account for more than four fifths (83%) of its members.
‘Building on ten years of collective action, GCoM will focus on accelerating implementation through climate finance, data, innovation and partnerships, helping cities turn ambitious commitments into measurable results,’ it noted. Read more here.
