The Multilevel Action Pavilion at COP 26 aims to provide a space for debate, knowledge exchange, and success stories of sub-national climate action and collaboration with other levels of government. The Pavilion is hosted by the Scottish Government and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. 

The Edinburgh Declaration is a milestone in the recognition of subnational contributions to achieving global biodiversity goals and targets. 

The Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP 26) is convening through 12 November 2021. The Pavilion opened on 1 November with a a high-level dialogue titled ‘Time4MultilevelAction,’ featuring city and county mayors, state governors, and ministers from the US, Brazil, the Republic of Korea, and Hungary, among others. Remarks highlighted:

• the importance of local and regional efforts to ensure the achievement of governments’ targets on reducing emissions;
• the need to make constituents’ voices more prominent in local and regional governments, so policies are more directly transferred into actions; and
• the role of the private sector and industries in raising ambition and achieving climate targets.

A panel showcased how the Scottish whiskey industry can advance Scotland’s net-zero target ambitions, and highlighted the leadership role of women in the industry.

On 2 November, the Glasgow Women’s Leadership on Gender Equality and Climate Change brought together a panel of female heads of government to discuss the gendered impacts of climate change and the importance of women’s leadership in addressing climate change. It was organized by ICLEI and UN Women.

On 3 November, an event on The City Investment Imperative for Net Zero focused on ensuring sufficient up-front investment is available for cities to transition rapidly away from carbon-intensive systems. The event addressed the need for: significant public and private funding and collaboration; a just transition to Net Zero; and combining government spending announcements with practical spending and implementation plans. The event also featured new research delivered by the UK Cities Climate Investment Commission (UK CCIC), which was launched in July 2021, and is a partnership between the event’s organizers (Connected Places Catapult, Core Cities, and London Councils).
 
African municipalities were the focus of a 4 November event at the Pavilion. The event highlighted that despite its limited contribution to climate change, the African region is doing its part to address the problem, while also trying to adapt to and build resilience against climate change and its effects. The event provided mayors in Africa the opportunity to showcase actions they are taking on the ground, with the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) working to support local governments in Sub-Saharan Africa to move from planning to implementation. An  evidence-based report was launched during the event, titled ‘Data Talks: What data do local governments really need to plan effectively for climate change?‘ 
 
On 5 November, a panel convened with representatives from three citizen climate assemblies in alignment with the COP 26 Presidency’s theme on Youth and Public Empowerment. Titled We have agreed. Will you?, the side event brought together representatives from Scotland’s Climate Assembly, the Citizens’ Convention for Climate, and the Global Citizen Assembly, who shared experiences and insights from producing and delivering recommendations to climate decisionmakers. The creation of citizen assemblies has begun to formalize citizen inputs, producing tangible reports and declarations that are effectively influencing policymaking. The event also highlighted the need for fairness, equity, and justice in climate policy and discussions, and recommendations aimed at increasing government support for better access to information for citizens.
 
A 6 November event brought together signatories of the Edinburgh Declaration for Biodiversity for subnational governments, cities, and local authorities on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF). The declaration has over 200 signatories and is a milestone in the formal recognition of contributions by subnational governments to the achievement of global biodiversity goals and targets. During the side event, signatories discussed successes and action plans to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change. They provided examples of peatland restoration, deforestation-free certification labels within the agriculture sector, and natural infrastructure to boost disaster resilience.

The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many events are taking place on the sidelines of the negotiations, serving to launch initiatives and publications, share insights on topics being discussed in the main proceedings, and introduce new issues and actors to the climate change process. [Website of Multilevel Action Pavilion at COP 26] [ENB coverage of COP 26 side events]