Urbanising the climate agenda: local governments at UNFCC COP17/CMP7 and beyond
Last year saw South Africa host the UNFCCC COP17/CMP7, from 28 November to 11 December 2011, and the parallel city focused Durban Local Government Convention from 2 December to 4 December. While the latter resulted in an unprecedented number of cities signing the Durban Adaption Charter, the Outcomes of COP17 were seen to come as too little, too late.
After lengthy negotiations an agreement was finally reached at COP17/CMP7 in the early hours of the last day. The agreement will see nations adopt, by the latest in 2015, a new legally binding regime in which all nations will be included in both mitigation and adaptation actions. They also agreed to extend the current Kyoto Protocol from 1 January 2013. Other outcomes included commencing operation of the Green Climate Fund and Adaption Committee.
While nations rallied together in the final hours for a deal, cities already demonstrated their commitment to climate action at COP17/CMP7 by:
• Adopting the Durban Adaptation Charter,
• Increasing the number of city-signatories to the Mexico City Pact,
• Aand through the release of the carbonn Cities Climate Registry 2011 Annual Report.
Running parallel to COP17/CMP7 was the Durban Local Government Convention: adapting to a changing climate – towards COP17/CMP7 and beyond. – an event strategically timed to take place during the global climate negotiations and dedicated to local governments The convention, which had a strong emphasis on climate adaptation and resilience in the global south, aimed to build on the recognition of local government as governmental stakeholders in the Cancun Agreement and focused on the pivotal role of local governments in addressing the climate change challenge.
This event was made possible by a strong partnership of international, national and local partners including the SA Department of Environmental Affairs, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), South African Cities Network (SACN), eThekwini Municipality and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.
Its main outcome, the Durban Adaptation Charter, saw over 100 mayors and other elected local leaders (representing over 950 local governments from around the world) sign in their support to this momentous political comment to strengthen local resilience to climate change.
Looking towards Rio+20
While great strides were made at the Durban Local Government Convention, cities are now expecting that the Durban COP17/CMP7 Outcomes alone are not enough to slow down the pace of global warming, nor foresee sufficient resources for adaptation actions at the local level.
“It is now urgent and more than ever necessary to mobilize and support the ambitious climate actions of local governments who have been accelerating action quicker than nations", says Gino Van Begin, Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.
“In the follow-up to [COP17 in] Durban, the critical step will be Rio+20 which particularly focus on enhancing the institutional governance for sustainable development. We will continue to advocate that cities and local governments need to be appropriately represented, engaged and resourced so that climate change and sustainable development challenges can be won in cities”, concludes Gino van Begin.
As a sign that cities are gaining more recognition in the Rio+20 preparations, a UN publication entitled "Rio+20 Making it Happen " was recently released and the importance of cities and their role as key players in global sustainability was highlighted. Indeed the UN now has a separate, comprehensive section about cities on its ‘Rio+20: The Future We Want’ website.
ICLEI, in cooperation with a variety of global partners, is organizing the Ri0+20 Global Town Hall – a gateway for cities to the pivotal Rio+20 proceedings to ensure the capacity of local governments to act is seized upon in global sustainable development efforts.
For more information regarding ICLEI’s involvement at COP17/CMP7 in Durban, please visit www.iclei.org/climate-roadmap and for ICLEI’s involvement in Rio+20, please visit www.iclei.org/local2012
