COP29 Wrap-Up: Local Leaders, Global Impact – Advancing Climate Action Through Collaboration

That’s a wrap on COP29! From November 11 to 22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan and online, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) co-organized and participated in 20+ events across the COP29 venue – gathering local leaders, partners, and stakeholders for an inspiring series of events focused on local climate solutions, research and innovation, sustainable finance, and data-driven approaches, all aimed at advancing a green and just transition. Throughout the two weeks, GCoM connected with and convened representatives from cities and local governments, academia, business, and more, working together to accelerate the implementation of ambitious and measurable climate and energy initiatives, fostering a transition to a low-emission, climate-resilient future. The events also served as a platform to spotlight the impactful urban climate action led by our signatory cities.

KEY GCOM MOMENTS DURING COP29

• GCoM launched the 2024 Global Covenant Of Mayors Impact Report: Banking on Change – Finance for Local Action. This report highlights the incredible potential of cities to lead the fight against climate change. With 13,558 GCoM cities spanning 147 countries and representing 1.2 billion people, the message is clear: Cities are stepping up to reduce emissions, increase resilience, and tackle energy poverty. GCoM’s annual flagship report explores regional climate challenges, innovative financing solutions, and inspiring case studies. It features examples such as Cape Town’s pioneering green bond program, Tashkent’s blended funding initiatives, and Rajkot’s public-private partnership for waste-to-energy transformation.
• The 3rd Ministerial Meeting(s) on Urbanization and Climate Change, co-hosted by the COP29 Presidency, UN-Habitat and the High-Level Climate Champions, with opening remarks by GCoM Global Ambassador & Special Envoy for Cities in CHAMP Gregor Robertson, brought together global leaders and experts for a meeting during the COP29 thematic day of Urbanisation,Transport and Tourism. The high-level meetings included speaking remarks from GCoM Board Member Mayor Dogbatse (Kloto I, Togo), GCoM Regional Ambassador Mayor Sefiani (Chefchaouen, Morocco), and local governments representatives of Quelimane (Mozambique), Coronel Portillo (Peru) and Embu County (Kenya). The meeting highlighted that by working together, national and local leaders can achieve far more than they ever could alone. At a time when many have lost faith in the ability of the multilateral process and international cooperation to deliver meaningful results for communities and for the environment, it was important to show how subnational governments can lead the way and that progress can be made. 
• GCoM and C40 Cities co-organized multiple sessions focused on how multilevel partnerships, particularly through the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP), are essential to advancing climate action and achieving net-zero targets. Throughout the week, a central message was carried forward from the Urban20 (U20) Summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 16, where mayors called for at least $800 billion USD in annual public investment from national governments and development finance institutions by 2030. Events included:
  • A technical briefing of the LGMA constituency on 18 November, to complement two webinars delivered before COP29.
  • “CHAMPioning a New Era of Climate Action: Multilevel Partnerships as the Way Forward,” event at the Multilevel Action and Urbanisation Pavilion featured city representatives from Embu County, Kenya and Turku, Finland. Representatives from the Brazil Federal Government and NDC Partnership explored how CHAMP can support ambitious NDCs.
  • “Ambitious and Inclusive NDCs 3.0 boosted by Local and Regional Action” event at the Regional Foundations Pavilion featured Mayor of Tswelopele Kenalemang Rose Phukuntsi and Director of Climate Governance at the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Ana Cavalcante. 
  • You can listen to some further reflections on key milestones, including the progress of the CHAMP initiative, the pressing need for city finance, and updates from technical negotiations here. 
• The Expert Group convened by GCoM and World Resources Institute (WRI) published a draft for consultation of Integrity Matters: GHG Target Setting Guidance for Cities, States, and Regions. Building on the launch of Integrity Matters for Cities, States, and Regions (IM4CSTARs) at COP28, this guidance presents high-integrity, fair-share approaches for setting, updating, and stress-testing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets that reflect equity and feasibility considerations whilst aligning with the ambition and principles of the Paris Agreement. This document is available for consultation until 28 February 2025 via this online survey. Cities, states, regions, net zero initiatives and alliances, NGOs, and other practitioners in subnational climate action are welcome to share their feedback via the survey. Additional comments may be sent to info@globalcovenantofmayors.org. 
• GCoM and Open Earth Foundation (OEF) announced a partnership to expand global access to data for cities and local governments, optimize software development for fit-for-purpose tools, and increase the availability of local greenhouse gas emissions inventories globally. Leveraging GCoM’s Data Portal for Cities and OEF’s CityCatalyst, both organizations are activating a shared vision of accelerating climate action by providing cities with integrated, interoperable, and innovative data and tools that can streamline climate decision-making and action prioritization – in line with the principles of the GCoM alliance, established by its Data Technical Working Group .
• GCoM and the UNESCO Chair on Urban Resilience at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) delivered an update to their findings on the urban climate finance components of NDCs, suggesting that between $30-43 billion USD have been requested to realize action implementation in the 26 countries for whom information is available as of 28 August 2024. Representing just 13% of all NDCs globally, these findings highlight the need for a systemic approach to the inclusion of estimated investments required to implement climate and energy action across cities and local governments.
• GCoM, UN-Habitat, and Esri have launched a Global Heat Resilience Partnership to leverage the strength of each organization and scale successes of data driven extreme heat interventions to more cities. Announced at the 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference, the partnership introduced the Keep Cool Heat Resilience Collaborative, an online platform offering open-access resources and lessons learned to support city-driven solutions.The partnership also unveiled a global series of hybrid workshops, Working with Data to Build Heat Resilience, to explore innovative approaches and protect vulnerable communities. 
• The International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI), of which GCoM is a founding member, launched The Climate Resilient Infrastructure Report: A Focus on Technology, showcasing platforms, tools and emerging digital technologies that advance climate-resilient infrastructure, as well as projects and initiatives that have incorporated them. The report includes GCoM’s joint white paper with the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC), Accelerating City Climate Action through Geospatial Data which sheds light on how geospatial technology can change the game for city-scale data, with applications that can help local governments understand and reduce emissions, identify climate risks and vulnerabilities, and catalyze energy transitions.
• GCoM co-organized and participated in over 20 events at COP29, showcasing its leadership in climate action. Notable sessions included “Investible NDCs for Subnational Action: Towards Low-Carbon, Resilient Cities and a Just Future,” featuring an intervention by GCoM Global Ambassador & Special Envoy for Cities in CHAMP Gregor Robertson, who emphasized the importance of multilevel governance in enabling local, integrated climate action; “Supporting Kazakh Cities in Their Path Towards Carbon Neutrality” at the Kazakhstan Pavilion, opened and moderated by GCoM Co-Managing Director Andy Deacon, which addressed the national policy on achieving carbon neutrality and explored the role and potential of cities in this process; and “The Sustainable Transition is Urban: How Cities Are Creating a Net-Zero, Resilient, People-Centered Future” in the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub Pavilion, led by UTM Director Giorgia Rambelli, which explored aligning city-level action with systemic climate resilience and low-carbon development priorities.

The Urban Transitions Mission (UTM): 

• UTM and Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) launched a new guide to help cities leverage data and insights for evidence-based urban planning. As urban planning undergoes a transformation, data-driven approaches are empowering planners to better understand how people live, work, move, and spend their free time. This integration supports critical decision-making and enables the development of more integrated and holistic urban plans. The guide, Transforming the Future of Urban Planning with Data and Insights, provides cities within the UTM cohort—and globally—with a quick step-by-step resource to design, strengthen, and implement evidence-based urban planning using reliable data, optimizing their efforts to build sustainable and resilient cities.
• UTM’s cohort has now reached 103 cities from 44 countries. Based on the targets these cities have set compared to a business-as-usual scenario, the cohort could collectively reduce GHG emissions by more than 500 MtCO2e annually by 2050—roughly equivalent to the carbon footprint of 1.1 million round-trip economy class flights between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Amman, Jordan. The mission is seeking 200 more pioneering cities to join and deliver on their transitions to net-zero by 2030, igniting a global movement that unites cities and innovation leaders to transform lives in communities worldwide. 

Lastly, learn more about some of GCoM’s key moments in media, such as on Smart Cities World and POLITICO. As well as some highlights on social media which you can find on GCoM’s X, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

As we reflect on the significant progress made at COP29, one thing is clear: the road to a climate-resilient future runs through cities. GCoM remains committed to equipping cities and local governments with the resources and  tools needed to lead the way in addressing the climate crisis.

A big thank you to everyone involved, our cities, the GCoM Board, our funders, GCoM Regional/National Covenants and the alliance of partners, for making all of this possible.Together, we’re making strides in turning bold ideas into actionable climate solutions.