The historic #COP30 opened in Belém in the Amazonian state of Pará on Monday with two days dedicated to cities. COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago set the tone for the conference in his opening speech, highlighting their pivotal role:
The presence of governors and mayors is extremely important, because [they] have an absolutely essential role in implementing the decisions of the COPs. – COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago
COP of implementation = COP of cities
Mayors and local leaders are ready to deliver – and support the COP30 Presidency’s call to move from ‘negotiation to implementation’. Just days before COP30, at the World Leaders Summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres received from local leaders the outcome statement of the COP30 Local Leaders Forum.
The statement is a declaration of support from thousands of cities, towns, and regions to their national governments to advance real, on-the-ground climate solutions, and a united call from local leaders to strengthen partnerships with cities and regions to close the gap on global climate goals.
In their message to national governments, local leaders outlined strategic commitments and actions designed to accelerate global progress during what they call “the decisive decade” for climate action. They called for:
1. Partnering to deliver national climate goals (read the C40 analysis of NDCs here)
2. Mobilizing climate finance for local projects
3. Making COP a place of implementation and accountability to deliver a just transition
As COP30 begins here in Belém, the handover of this statement to the UN Secretary-General sends a powerful message that cities are ready to act. Mayors and governors are already delivering the just, inclusive transition the world needs and are committing to taking action every year. But they cannot do it alone. If we truly want to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, global leaders must now match local ambition with global investment, especially for cities in the Global South, where solutions are ready to scale. – Mark Watts, C40 Cities Executive Director
COP of truth
“COP30 will be the COP of truth.” – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Cities know disinformation is one of the key obstacles to climate action – so it’s great to see information integrity at the top of COP30’s agenda. President Lula’s words resonated powerfully – cities support his call. They are already disarming disinformation from the bottom up.
In the age of disinformation, obscurantists reject not only scientific evidence but also the progress of multilateralism. They control algorithms, spread hatred, and sow fear. This is the time to impose a new defeat on the denialists. – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the opening of COP30
Local leaders have created a powerful foundation to disarm disinformation. Now, governments, civil society, and the private sector must work with cities to overcome those spreading denial and falsehoods. Coalitions will be key, and C40 welcomes the CAAD-led initiative at COP30 to urge national governments to address disinformation in the negotiations.
A new global effort to accelerate multilevel climate action
At the Fourth Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change, two milestones to advance multilevel climate governance were announced:
1️⃣ New CHAMP Leadership: Brazil and Germany will co-chair the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) in a new country-led governance framework, guiding the coalition’s next phase of action in partnership with local governments and global networks.
2️⃣ The first of its kind ‘Plan to Accelerate Solutions’ (PAS) on multilevel governance, coordinated by the Brazilian COP30 Presidency in collaboration with UN-Habitat, CHAMP and other partners, was launched. The plan will align national ambition with local action, integrate local priorities into national climate plans (NDCs), and institutionalise multilevel governance as a foundation for achieving the Paris Agreement’s goals.
This plan, one of nearly 100 action plans delivered as outcomes of the COP30 Action Agenda, will be the implementation tool of CHAMP, moving the coalition from political commitment to operational delivery by connecting policy, capacity building, and finance across all levels of government.
Together, CHAMP and the multilevel governance PAS mark a new era for climate collaboration, bridging the gap between national ambition and local implementation.
CHAMP must now become part of how every country prepares and implements its climate plan – aligning national vision with local execution. National governments commit to big infrastructure projects but local leaders want to see shovels in the ground. – Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
Photo by Antonio Scorza/COP30
The Yearly Offer of Action gains support
COP30 CEO Ana Toni praised city leadership, and highlighted the C40 and GCoM mayors’ Yearly Offers of Action – ambitious actions mayors will take in 2026 with an intent to do so every year ahead of COP. These actions are a city-level response plan to the NDCs, adaptation, and finance gap, that align to the COP30 Action Agenda and are a concrete step to get the world on track to meet the Paris Agreement goals.
We saw at the Local Leaders Forum that cities are taking the lead. They even launched a yearly offer of action commitment to deliver on climate action. It’s not a pledge for ten years from now, but for the next one! The involvement of subnational governments in the $1.3 trillion report is essential to move us toward implementation. Mayors are the bridge between the COP and people’s daily lives – we need this translation to happen. – Ana Toni, COP30 CEO
Find out more about the Yearly Offer of Action in the city episode of the Outrage + Optimism podcast, featuring C40 Executive Director Mark Watts, and mayors of Paris, Freetown, and Portland.
Toni also emphasized the need to bring climate finance to states and municipalities: “What kinds of global mechanisms can fund local urgencies? This is the core challenge of multilevel governance.”
COP of Cities
“We should not get out of COP without supporting mayors and cities. This is the COP of cities.” – Ana Toni at the Beat The Heat panel event
Cities are on the frontlines of resilience, including tackling extreme heat. Greening Cities to Beat the Heat, a new flagship initiative co-led by UNEP and the COP30 Presidency, is launching a ‘Beat the Heat Implementation Drive’ to help over 150 cities adapt through nature-based solutions and urban forestry, helping to reduce heat risks for 3.5 billion people by 2030. It will also help to enhance multilevel collaboration on heat by helping embed cooling strategies in national adaptation frameworks.
From Lagos’ weather warning systems to Freetown’s community-led water solutions, bold, local action is already happening. See how C40 Cities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark are supporting this vital work.
Brazil advances clean transport
Announced earlier this week was the launch of the Laneshift e-Dutra Project, which will deploy electric trucks and chargers along the Presidente Dutra Highway between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. This is the first project of its kind in Latin America. By 2030, over 1000 electric truck trips will have taken place along the corridor, which could prevent around 75000 metric tons of CO2.
COP30 progress so far – analysis
COP30’s formal negotiations kicked off on Tuesday, with the COP Presidency working to overcome strong divisions on key items – including on how COP30 can deliver a credible response plan to close the ambition gap in current national climate plans, and how to accelerate global collaboration and financing for just transitions and adaptation.
Mayors and C40 & GCoM delegation at COP30 are working to build on early momentum and secure strong outcomes on our key asks below, to help COPs shift from negotiation to real, practical action with cities at the forefront:
- Recognise the role of cities and subnationals as full partners in climate action – to bridge the implementation gap, deliver on the Paris Agreement and secure a just transition.
🟢 EARLY MOMENTUM
Many crucial stakeholders at COP30 are voicing their support for elevating cities and subnationals as full implementation partners, including COP President André Corrêa do Lago and the United Nations Secretary-General (see above). We are continuing to engage with representatives of diverse national governments to ensure this momentum is translated into ambitious final outcomes, that represent a step-change in elevating cities’ role in implementing climate action.
- Explore new methods to engage cities and subnationals in the COP process, including through formal spaces, mechanisms or dialogues, to enable, incentivise, and support meaningful partnerships for subnational-national collaboration, to focus on and support urban climate action.
🟢 EARLY MOMENTUM
Many prominent voices on climate action are also expressing support for our ask for a formal space for cities and subnationals in the COP process, with the United Nations Secretary-General committing to support cities in advocating for a stronger formal role, echoing the support offered by the United Nations’ Special Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action Selwin Hart during the C40 World Mayors Summit.
At the same time, the negotiating group representing vulnerable small-island states (AOSIS) is leading a call for COP to deliver a technical response on how to close the ambition gap in current climate plans (NDCs). Their proposal – supported by several developed and developing countries – supports the creation of a dedicated space at COPs to consider the findings of the NDC Synthesis Report, assess collective progress, and define follow-up actions that accelerate implementation and drive ambition toward meeting the 1.5°C goal between now and 2030.
Cities will be critical to any NDC response plan in order to close the ambition gap and identify barriers to implementation. We are following and supporting developments closely.
- Formally acknowledge cities and subnationals as just transition implementers, and include them in the implementation of a new global just transition mechanism that helps to drive international collaboration on a just transition.
🟠 TOO EARLY
As negotiations on the UN’s official Just Transition Work Programme kicked off, a report of this previous year’s just transition discussions was published – which makes clear that countries are increasingly recognising local governments as critical just transition actors. Many countries acknowledged that multilevel governance, clear mandates, and adequate resourcing for local governments can translate national commitments into tangible improvements on the ground.
However, countries remain divided on whether a new just transition mechanism should be created at this COP. Countries should seize this opportunity to deliver a new mechanism to overcome the current fragmented and insufficient global just transition efforts. To drive improved, practical solutions on just transitions that respond to the needs of communities, it must include cities, subnationals, workers, and civil society representatives from the start.
- Ensure that COP30 finance outcomes recognise cities’ investment needs, scale up and improve the quality of financing for urban climate action, especially for urban adaptation.
🟢 SOME PROGRESS
At the start of COP, the COP29 and COP30 Presidencies published the Baku to Belém Roadmap, a key document aiming to chart a path to achieve the crucial goal set at last year’s COP29 – to mobilise $1.3tn per year for developing countries’ climate action by 2035.
The Roadmap sends encouraging signals that can help enhance the mobilisation of urban climate finance (for adaptation and energy transition), including strengthening enabling policies, capacity building, and improving direct access to climate finance for cities/subnationals. However, meaningful engagement of cities is critical to strengthen these proposals and ensure the Roadmap’s effective implementation over the next 10 years.
Read more from COP30 High-Level Champions about how cities and their mayors are driving forward climate solutions and pushing forward COP30’s Action Agenda, and a summary of the surge of subnational leadership driving global implementation.