2 October 2013: The World Mayors Summit on Climate Change brought together local and regional government representatives, who affirmed their commitment to scale up climate actions, urge engagement on climate change at the global level, and enhance access to finance.

The Summit, which took place in Nantes, France, from 27-28 September 2013, brought together over 50 mayors from 30 countries, and more than 20 regional and global networks of local and subnational governments. The summit concluded with the adoption of the Nantes Declaration of Mayors and Subnational Leaders on Climate Change: Local Government Climate Roadmap 2013-2015, which calls for greater cooperation with all levels of government, and accelerated local level access to international financing frameworks to fund climate actions.

The Declaration’s adoption marks the beginning of a new phase for the Local Government Climate Roadmap, a process aimed at recognizing, engaging and empowering local governments within the global climate regime. Among the innovative features of the renewed Roadmap is the creation of a ‘Friends of Cities’ group, which brings together national governments that wish to collaborate with local and subnational governments. The Roadmap also aims to pave the way to the UN Paris Climate Conference in 2015. Poland’s Environment Vice-Minister Beata Jaczewska underscored the important role the Declaration will play in the upcoming climate conference in Warsaw in November, where the first-ever ‘Cities Day’ will convene on 21 November, bringing together Ministers and Mayors. The Declaration was developed through a partnership with the Roadmap and was facilitated by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

Other events took place alongside the Summit itself. The ECOCITY World Summit 2013 convened from 25-27 September, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN-HABITAT, and addressed: fostering solidarity; meeting the energy challenges of the city; mobilizing enabling factors; organizing the sustainable city; and reducing the environmental footprint.

A Global Environment Facility (GEF) Forum was also held on new directions in GEF programming for sustainable and resilient cities, during which Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson, presented a GEF-proposed Sustainable Cities initiative and solicited feedback regarding barriers to integrated urban planning, areas that require urgent investment, and partnerships to facilitate mutual learning. Forum participants discussed: the use of common key indicators to connect local action to global impact; and approaches, modalities and challenges for cities working with the GEF and other NGOs on climate change issues.

The World Mayors Council on Climate Change, founded in December 2005, is an alliance of local government leaders advocating for enhanced engagement of local governments in multilateral efforts on climate change and global sustainability. [World Mayors Summit Website] [Nantes Declaration of Mayors and Subnational Leaders on Climate Change Local Government Climate Roadmap 2013-2015 ] [Local Government Climate Roadmap] [World Mayors Council on Climate Change Website] [ICLEI Press Release on Nantes Declaration] [ECOCITY World Summit 2013] [GEF Forum]