By Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities and Laurence Tubiana, CEO of The European Climate Foundation and Special Envoy to Europe for COP30
COP30 this November marks a decade since 196 states signed the Paris Agreement on a collective response to the climate crisis. Despite encouraging progress, the gap between commitments and delivery remains dangerously wide. Isolationist politics, economic crises, and geopolitical instability are undermining the Agreement’s progress – some say irreparably.
Like millions of people around the world, we both know that multilateral cooperation is still the only viable path forward. The logic of hard power and zero-sum geopolitics – increasingly in vogue in some capitals – has no answer to the climate crisis: only denial and delay.
The essential task of COP30 in Belém must be to reboot momentum, restore trust, and accelerate action – not by haggling over new clauses, but by delivering immediate action on what’s already been agreed.
This effort must put cities and regions at its core. Why? Because they are going further and faster than anyone else. For them, climate change isn’t a distant threat but a daily reality, already affecting their residents’ lives, health, and livelihoods. On the frontline of the climate crisis, local authorities are acting, going further and faster than anyone else – not just out of ambition, but out of necessity.
The results speak for themselves. In the C40 network – a coalition of nearly 100 of the world’s leading cities committed to climate leadership – 75% of member cities are cutting per capita emissions faster than their national governments. All C40 cities have action plans aligned with Paris targets.
Subnational governments are also key to making the global climate system more accountable – a vital shift if we are to move from commitments to implementation. Cities are increasingly holding themselves to high standards: publishing annual progress reports and adopting annual climate budgets that align spending with climate goals. Subnational governments should be invited to contribute to the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake – a five-yearly process, to assess collective progress and identify what more is needed.
Crucially, local governments understand climate policies must deliver social and economic justice – the foundation of public trust. Poorly designed, regressive measures inevitably provoke backlash, deepen inequality, and fuel disinformation.
Cities and regions are already proving that a just transition is possible – designing policies that fairly share costs and benefits and respond to local concerns. In Accra, clean air efforts are targeting low-income neighbourhoods most affected by pollution. In Barcelona, climate shelters prioritise vulnerable groups, offering refuge from extreme heat in schools and public buildings.
The vision behind the Paris Agreement always recognised the essential role of subnational actors – working alongside national governments, and in some cases stepping up when they fall short. Cities and regions can, and want to, do more. But too often, they’re held back – politically and financially. COP30 is the moment to change that: to elevate subnational leadership from the margins to the centre of climate governance, and mark the beginning of a new era of multilateralism.
We need COPs to be a delivery service, not just a talking shop.
The building blocks are already in place. The Coalition for High Ambition Multi-level Partnership (CHAMP), launched at COP28, now includes 75 countries committed to integrating cities, regions, and other subnational actors into climate decision-making. It represents the strongest political mandate yet for multilevel collaboration. At COP30, CHAMP countries should bring inclusive delegations that reflect this commitment, with local leaders at the table. They should demonstrate how coordination across levels of government is turning pledges into tangible outcomes – and share lessons others can adopt.
Finance is a critical constraint. Right now, too little climate finance reaches the city and regional level – even though that’s where much of the implementation takes place. To address this, every development bank should establish a dedicated programme to support subnational climate plans. The Inter-American Development Bank has already made progress in this area and should be invited to convene its peers at COP30 to accelerate reform.
It’s time for a cultural shift that brings cities and regions fully into the fold of climate governance. This isn’t about giving subnationals a seat at the negotiating table, but instead recognising them as indispensable partners for a more accountable, delivery-driven push to meet our shared climate goals.
The future of climate action will not be won in negotiation rooms and ministries alone, but in the streets, neighbourhoods, and communities where change is already underway. Cities and regions are not only where global commitments are delivered – they are also driving greater ambition from the ground up, showing what’s possible and pushing others to follow. But they can only play this role if properly empowered – with a voice in decisions, a role in accountability, and access to finance.
This article was originally published in Globo on June 23 2025.