Yesterday, the COP28 Presidency and Bloomberg Philanthropies convened the first-ever subnational leaders’ summit at a COP, marking a new era of inclusion and integration in the COP program and process.
The COP28 Local Climate Action Summit (LCAS) was held during the COP28 World Climate Action Summit and hosted by COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber and Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. It is supported by world-leading networks of local leaders.

The summit, which united over 450 attendees from 60+ countries, including over 250 mayors and governors, focused on driving greater integration in four key areas: transforming local climate finance, integrating local contributions to enhance global action, fast-tracking the local energy transition and strengthening local resilience and adaptation.

Speakers at LCAS included UN Secretary-General António Guterres, European Commission Executive Vice President Maroš Šefčovič, Xie Zhenhua, Special Envoy for Climate Change of the People’s Republic of China, and the Governors and Mayors of Bogota, Dubai, Makati, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.

Commenting on the summit, COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber stated: “LCAS marked another first for COP28 and a major moment in this Presidency’s effort to host an inclusive COP. LCAS formally recognizes the critical role of local leaders in reducing emissions, addressing climate risk, and supercharging national efforts to move further and faster on climate progress and it is a pleasure to meet so many inspirational leaders”.

“Allow me to thank the Secretary General of the United Nations, and the President of COP28, and Mike Bloomberg, because mayors need commitment at this level,” said Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, France. “If you want to achieve the Paris Agreement targets, we need to have cities in the room. What happened today is a major success. And to all of my colleagues, let’s make sure mayors remain in the room.”

During LCAS, the COP28 Presidency launched ‘Coalition for High Ambition Multi-Level Partnerships’ (CHAMP). Developed in consultation with subnational and national leaders, along with a diverse set of stakeholders, CHAMP is a pioneering initiative that recommends a new process for local and regional leaders to contribute to the development of updated and ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). CHAMP has been endorsed by 63 national governments fostering collaboration between national and subnational levels to find a new, inclusive, and ambitious approach to updating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It provides a mechanism to harvest the best ideas for climate action from the local level, with the goal of ensuring the next round of national climate targets are as ambitious and inclusive as possible.

The latest synthesis report from this year’s Global Stocktake highlighted the need for the urgent acceleration of higher climate ambition and improved multi-level action.

More than 1000 cities have signed up to the Race to Zero, with their collective commitment having the potential to reduce emissions by 1.4 gigatons annually by 2030. CHAMP is a catalyst to further enhance this contribution and accelerate local action.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said: “CHAMP proposes a new and more inclusive way of forming ambitious and importantly actionable NDCs. Following COP, nations are encouraged to invite their subnational jurisdictions to prepare and submit climate plans as inputs to updated NDCs. Nations will submit these in two years ahead of COP30, and we look forward to seeing the input of local and regional knowledge and expertise.

In support of this new approach, Mike Bloomberg announced a new $65 million commitment to continue his longtime support for local climate action and emissions reduction around the world. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the funding will provide critical support to leading city networks, expand data and research, and strengthen capacity for local climate finance. This announcement brings Mike’s commitment to supporting cities in reducing emissions to over $650 million.

Mike Bloomberg said, “In 2015, after decades of being sidelined, mayors crashed the Paris COP and pushed national leaders into signing a first-ever global agreement. This year, for the first time ever, local and regional leaders have been formally invited to participate in the proceedings -which reflects how the ambitions and influence of cities have continued to grow.”

Today’s Summit comes eight years after the Climate Summit for Local Leaders convened by Mike Bloomberg and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on the sidelines of COP21. To mark the occasion, Bloomberg Philanthropies also released a new report - Paris to Dubai: Local Climate Leadership in Action - outlining the historic progress cities and regions have made and outlining the steps necessary for greater ambition and partnership to accelerate climate action ahead of 2030.

Mike Bloomberg continued, “Local leaders recognize that reducing emissions goes handin-hand with raising economic growth and improving public health, and more and more leaders are recognizing the financial opportunities that the transition away from fossil fuels is creating. The COP28 Local Climate Action Summit is a chance for leaders from all levels of government to come together, forge new partnerships, and continue leading by example."

LCAS featured a series of panels and remarks from global and local leaders.

Speaking about the challenges of getting adequate funding for local climate projects, Abigail Binay, Mayor of Makati, Philippines, said, “The Philippines and other countries have not been able to get the funding they need on a national level. And now we're coming in on a city level. Do we actually really think that the cities will get the same amount or the same or enough access to this funding? I hope that under the leadership of Dr. Sultan that we will make that happen, and under the leadership and cooperation of the UN, Bloomberg Philanthropies and COP28 as well.”

The second day of LCAS will include a series of breakout sessions focusing on critical topics such as a just energy transition, financing sustainable infrastructure, health, adaptation and resilience, multilateral development bank reform and the role of nature. Day two will also feature a Mayors Innovation Studio, where more than 150 mayors from across the globe will receive tools to enable young people in their communities to co-design, co-produce, and co-govern urgent climate strategies and policies. The day two agenda can be seen here.

Media interested in attending or learning more about the COP28 Local Climate Action Summit can contact pressinfo@bloomberg.org Country Endorsement of CHAMP (63): 1. Albania 2. Andorra 3. Antigua and Barbuda 4. Armenia 5. Azerbaijan 6. Bahamas 7. Bangladesh 8. Belgium 9. Brazil 10. Brunei 11. Bulgaria 12. Canada 13. Chad 14. Chile 15. Colombia 16. Costa Rica 17. Cote d'Ivoire 18. Denmark 19. Dominican Republic 20. El Salvador 21. Estonia 22. Eswatini 23. Ethiopia 24. France 25. Germany 26. Ghana 27. Guatemala 28. Hungary 29. Italy 30. Japan 31. Jordan 32. Kiribati 33. Lebanon 34. Lesotho 35. Moldova 36. Mongolia 37. Morocco 38. Netherlands 39. Nicaragua 40. Nigeria 41. Norway 42. Pakistan 43. Palau 44. Papua New Guinea 45. Paraguay 46. Philippines 47. Poland 48. Portugal 49. Rwanda 50. Serbia 51. Seychelles 52. Sierra Leone 53. South Korea 54. Sri Lanka 55. Turkmenistan 56. Ukraine 57. UAE 58. USA 59. Yemen 60. Kyrgyzstan 61. Kenya 62. Bhutan 63. Panama

About COP28 UAE:

• COP28 UAE is taking place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023. The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors.
• As mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 UAE is delivering the first ever Global Stocktake - a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals.
• The UAE is leading a process for all parties to agree upon a clear roadmap to accelerate progress through a pragmatic global energy transition and a “leave no one behind” approach to inclusive climate action.

About the COP28 Local Climate Action Summit Hosted by the COP28 Presidency and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Local Climate Action Summit aims to bring together national and subnational climate leaders to transform climate finance, enhance global action, fast-track the energy transition, and strengthen resilience and adaptation at the local level.

This Summit is backed by world-leading networks of local leaders, including the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), US Conference of Mayors, the Under2 Coalition, UN-Habitat, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and others.

The LCAS will unite subnational and national leaders to establish a new paradigm for fully integrated climate action between governments at all levels across four core themes:

• Transforming Local Climate Finance: Strengthen sustainable financial mechanisms to mobilize the trillions of dollars in public and private investment needed globally at the subnational level to deliver real change.
• Integrating Local Contributions to Enhance Global Action: Incorporate local implementation into national and international climate policy design and determine how best to factor subnational action into future national and global climate goals, including for 2030.
• Fast-tracking the Local Energy Transition: Propel rapid advancements across pivotal sectors and surface new strategies to deliver ambitious results locally.
• Strengthening Local Resilience and Adaptation: Protect residents and infrastructure from immediate and future climate risks.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2022, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn.