UCLG at the Climate Conference

The 28^th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is taking place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. The Local Climate Action Summit, held for the first time and at the initiative of the COP Presidency, has become the official part of the conference to emphasize the importance of local governments in achieving climate progress. On December 1 and 2, over two days, local, regional and national leaders discussed climate finance, catalyzing global action, accelerating energy transition, building sustainability and adaptation at the local level.

The Local Climate Action Summit was opened with a welcome speech by António Guterres, UN Secretary General, Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President, Michael Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy for Climate Solutions, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former Mayor of New York City 2002-2013, as well as Anne Hidalgo, UCLG Ambassador for the Pact for the Future, Paris Mayor, Claudia Lopez, UCLG Vice President, Bogota Mayor, as well as mayors of such cities as Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Makati (Philippines), Tokyo (Japan).

The agreement on the Loss and Damage Fund has become an important achievement of the Conference. Loss and damage refers to the negative impacts of climate change that cannot be addressed by mitigation and adaptation actions. These can be sudden phenomena such as earthquakes or slow onset processes such as sea level rise or glacial melt. The Fund is designed to help the most vulnerable and needy countries. All countries leave a negative carbon footprint, but not all of them are equally at risk of climate disasters. The creation of the Fund is a form of restoring climate justice.

Initial funding is about $300 million, including $100 million from the UAE and Germany, $75 million from the UK, $24,5 million from the US and $10 million from Japan.

UCLG is a member of the Transition Committee on the establishment of the Fund. Over the past year, the organization actively participated in discussions and expressed its position on the need to include local and regional governments in the operation of the Fund and its allocation process. The discussion on the topic of loss and damage has continued on the margins of COP28. Uğur Ibrahim Altay, President of UCLG, Mayor of Konya, noted that the issue of loss and damage is important for the World organization, and it is included in the UCLG Pact for the Future.

Ilsur Metshin, President of UCLG-Eurasia and Mayor of Kazan, also participated in the COP28 Conference. In his speech at the session “Amplifying Multilateral Climate Governance: Bringing the Local Governments Constituency Conversation into the Climate Processes”, the Mayor of Kazan paid special attention to the problem of people with disabilities. According to him, any measures to combat climate change should respect the dignity of people with disabilities.

In total, some 70,000 delegates attended COP28. More than 130 world leaders delivered national statements to the UN Climate Conference in Dubai. Among them are the presidents of Eurasia countries: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, President of Turkmenistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan.

The photo: Roman Logov on Unsplash

12.12.2023

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