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An insight into local government priorities for COP16, the next round of international climate negotiations.
BY ART VON LEHE, ICLEI POLICY OFFICER
away disappointed by the lack of prog- ress in Copenhagen. Thousands of local elected officials from around the world attended the negotiations to call for a strong, binding agreement that also em- powered climate action at the local level. It didn’t happen, yet there is still hope, even as we inch closer to catastrophic climate change.
A
climate agreement must recognize, empower, and support local government climate action to address climate
“ change.
– ICLEI SECrETAry GEnErAL kOnrAD OTTO-zImmErmAn
” In late November 2010, the 16th meet-
ing of the Conference of Parties (COP16) will take place in Cancun, Mexico. ICLEI representatives will be on hand to con- tinue advocating for local governments around the world. Our strategy and our message remain essentially the same. “At COP15, ICLEI brought together
over a thousand local government rep- resentatives to broadcast a critical mes- sage: The next global climate agreement must recognize, empower, and support local government climate action to ad-
The next global
fter the year-long buildup of expectations for an interna- tional climate agreement in 2009, it was hard not to come
LOCAL ACTION ACROSS THE GLOBE
It isn’t hard to make this case. More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and cities are responsible for more than 75 percent of global green- house gas emissions. The good news is that local governments can take incred- ibly effective actions to reduce emis- sions through their local policies and initiatives—and they’ve already proven to nations that emissions reduction tar- gets are achievable. The vision ICLEI will articulate at
COP16 is of nations and their local gov- ernments working in concert to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change impacts. National governments will make local action part of their national strategies; they will empower local action through direct funding, as well as enabling legis- lation or policies—for example, legislation to allow for local clean energy financing programs that help homeowners pay for renewable energy installations and ener- gy efficiency upgrades. Another exciting prospect: the creation of an international financing mechanism to unleash private investment for local emissions reduction initiatives. But in Cancun, this vision needs to
become more than a vision. It needs to be set in stone. The recognition and em- powerment of local governments must be formally written into the text of any new climate agreement. ICLEI will not waver from this position. While the 11th hour Copenhagen
Accord ultimately failed to mention local governments, the U.N. texts used for negotiating the post-Kyoto agreement are endorsed by the Copenhagen Accord, and these U.N. texts include local governments as key climate actors. The inclusion of local government provisions in the negotiating texts are a
dress climate change,” says ICLEI Secre- tary General Konrad Otto-Zimmermann, who is based in ICLEI’s World Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. “Our plan is to drive home that message at COP16 and dem- onstrate that local governments are key actors in addressing climate change.”
Tracking federal policy for local governments
As federal climate and energy legislation takes shape in the United States, ICLEI USA will continue to provide detailed policy analysis to its local government members. For the past year, we have dug into each version of the House and Senate bills to pull out what parts of the legislation affect local governments.
We’re also tracking ongoing and new federal funding opportunities, such as the stimulus-funded Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program. In 2010, we have also played a key role in helping HUD, EPA, and DOT gather local government feedback in advance of funding announcements for the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program. For the latest on climate, energy, and sustainability policy, visit the ICLEI USA website.
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icleiusa.org/policy
result of ICLEI’s sustained engagement in the U.N. process, so there is reason to be hopeful for inclusion in a new agreement at COP16.
BUILDING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT, FROM THE BOTTOM UP
If a treaty is signed in Cancun, local governments can take credit for paving the way. Since 1993, local governments have been taking voluntary emissions reduction actions. These local actions have moved the political equations in many sub-national regions, creating a groundswell of necessary political will at the national and international level. Equally important, more than 3,000 lo- cal governments across the planet have already publicized their emissions re- duction commitments in ICLEI’s online Climate Catalogue (climate-catalogue. org) to show the world they are already moving forward on climate action. ICLEI’s two-year process, known as the Local Government Climate Roadmap, has helped to gather and focus local voices worldwide. As momentum toward Cancun in-
creases, ICLEI will continue to keep its local government members empowered and informed. Follow the action at our Global and USA websites:
www.iclei.org and
www.icleiusa.org/policy. PE
Local Action Moves the World •
www.icleiusa.org
PLANET EARTH \\ COP 16 AND THE WAY AHEAD
ISTOCKPHOTO (9); CLIPART (2)
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