Cornerstone III: Advocate

Daring Cities outcomes at UNFCCC COP28: Connecting the cornerstones

Throughout 2023, hundreds of representatives of cities, towns, regions and other subnationals, and the partners that work with them, have come together at Daring Cities 2023 to exchange on best practices, innovative solutions and creative approaches to a just and equitable transformation of our society in the face of the climate emergency. These exchanges have produced a set of key findings from Daring Cities 2023. We brought these messages to COP28 in Dubai to show what came out of Daring Cities 2023 and help guide the climate agenda forward into 2024.

We had three main groups of key findings from Cornerstone I of Daring Cities 2023:

Multilevel action is the new normal in the global agenda
Justice and equity should be at the core of the response to the climate emergency
Cities are already providing innovative climate solutions on the ground

See how these key findings were brought to COP28.

The Daring Cities community already knows that multilevel action is the only way forward. At Daring Cities 2024, happening parallel to the SB Talks, we will work together with those national governments that have already endorsed CHAMP to further this collaboration. We advocate for others to join us in tackling the climate emergency at all policy levels.

Multilevel action is the new normal in the global agenda

CHAMP is a new way for parties to commit to multilevel action

CHAMP – the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships – is a powerful initiative bridging the voices of cities and regions to reignite global climate ambitions, emphasizing the indispensable role of subnational governments.

By the time COP28 ended, more than 70 countries had pledged to join the COP28 Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnership (CHAMP) for Climate Action in order to enhance cooperation with their local, regional and other subnational governments – including cities, towns, states and regions – to collectively pursue efforts to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The goal of the pledge is to help nations to achieve Paris Agreement goals, by working with and harvesting contributions from local and other subnational governments for planning, financing and implementation of climate strategies and actions. CHAMP will help create a bridge to the 2025 NDCs, which can be enhanced through the inclusion of cities, towns and regions in planning and implementation.

Second Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change

Lord Mayor of Bonn (Germany), Katja Dörner, addressed 40 ministers and more than 200 subnational leaders from around the world at the second Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change on 6 December. Amongst other important aspects, she invited the attendees to join Daring Cities in 2024.

Watch her intervention

Justice and equity should be at the core of the response to the climate emergency

Local leaders brought the just transition home at UNFCCC COP28

Mayor of Lusaka speaks about supporting the livelihood of community members during ICLEI responding to the climate emergency in the global south

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition of Scotland speaks about loss & damage with Indigenous and Youth representatives during Equitable institutionalization of the Loss and Damage Fund: Amplifying youth and indigenous voices

Mayor of Boise speaks about inclusive land use and zoning policy in Local solutions in land: Multilevel collaboration for inclusive climate resilience

Watch more events that took place in the Multilevel Action & Urbanization Pavilion on YouTube!

Loss & Damage

As historic loss and damage fund victory kicks of COP28, cities and regions celebrate direct access to critical funding.

Working together

Multilevel governance is an essential tool to address inequity and foster an energy transition that is sustainable and just.

Local Stocktakes

Under the #Stocktake4ClimateEmergency banner, 28 cities and regions have staged their local events that officially contribute to the first Global Stocktake by turning their municipalities into mini-COP venues. Here is a deep-dive into real case examples from Hoboken and Denver in the USA and Rosario in Argentina. Also make sure to read the #Stocktake4ClimateEmergency Outcomes Report!

Kiribati: From Daring Cities Virtual Forum to UNFCCC COP28

Kiribati was one of the examples that was highlighted during the Daring Cities Virtual Forum. Now at COP28, Baraniko Baaro, Mayor of Teinainano Urban Council in Tarawa Island in Kiribati, intervened at the GST High-Level Event on Mitigation, emphasising the need for multilevel action and collaboration.

Read the speech