Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy [UCLG Decalogue]

Description

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership, built upon the commitment of over 10,000 local and regional governments. It aims at supporting local governments in aligning with and further advancing globally-coherent and regionally-tailored climate solutions, in alliance with city networks. Fostering a resilient and low-emission society, the cities and partners of the GCoM focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as increased access to clean and affordable energy. Based on a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, the GCoM supports ambitious, locally relevant solutions in sectors where cities can have the most significant impact.

New and expanded partnerships and forms of collaboration for the GCoM alliance will help cities and local governments deliver on their promise for bold climate action. Chief among them is the expanded role of the European Commission, which will help enhance and deepen engagement with cities and local governments while contributing to international European Union (EU) commitments, including the Glasgow Climate Pact, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, and other relevant international initiatives.

Capitalizing on this critical opportunity for cities also requires ever-stronger collaboration and coordination with network partners, both globally and in-region. As core strategic and implementation partners, GCoM will continually engage and consult network partners on cross-cutting initiatives and create touchpoints to ensure that GCoM remains a global alliance able to accommodate local and regional needs.

Through partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the European Commission, city network partners, and others, the GCoM alliance will also bring forward technical assistance and support tools both globally and to areas of the world that need it the most.

Partners

12,816 cities from all world regions as of 01.09.2023, see https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/our-cities/

Beneficiaries

Local and regional governments and their local communities around the world
The international community

Details

The GCoM signatories recognise the urgency of transitioning to a net zero future. Over 9,500 cities in the GCoM Alliance have set a climate mitigation target that is in line with the Common Reporting Framework (CRF) [11]. CRF alignment ensures signatory mitigation targets that are at least as ambitious as their country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. Based on current targets and actions, the GCoM cities could collectively reduce global emissions by 4.1 GtCO2 in 2050 compared to a business-as-usual (BAU) trajectory. This is equivalent to 80 percent of USA’s yearly GtCO2 emissions. Also, GCoM cities and local governments are taking actions across climate change mitigation, adaptation, and energy access. GCoM signatories have reported 205,106 actions to address climate change. Of these actions, more than 93% relate to mitigation, and close to 8% relate to adaptation and resilience. Also, cities are increasingly reporting actions resulting in quantifiable energy savings, increased energy efficiency and renewable energy generation. Against this backdrop, GCoM's extensive programme of work is driven by five initiatives to help cities develop and strengthen their climate ambition. The initiatives are: - Amplify4Cities: Inspire citizens and policymakers alike towards meaningful climate actions. - Invest4Cities: Enhance and accelerate city and local government access to financial resources. - Data4Cities: Develop, maintain, and manage the data underpinning the GCoM alliance, partnering networks and cities, and highlighting the progress and power of cities. - Innovate4Cities: Tackle the information and technology gaps cities have prioritized to drive science-based replicable action and sustainable innovation at the scale the world demands, and those cities need. - Mobilize4Cities: Provide expertise via local, national, and international specialists to enable urban action along the city climate journey and across regional contexts.

Additional information

2022 Global Impact Report: https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-GCoM-Impact-Report.pdf

Goal 3

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 6

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 7

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 12

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 14

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Government

People

Planet