159th CoR Plenary Session (31 January - 1 February 2024)

The EU pushed for substantially scaling up global climate ambition to keep the 1.5°C objective within reach, in line with the Paris Agreement, and worked with like-minded partners to secure a successful outcome at COP28.

A recent JRC research assesses to which extent regions from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain are prepared to confront climate change. To measure readiness, the analysis looks at how their science and technological innovation and policy priorities are geared towards tackling climate change.

The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, ended on 13 December 2023. The conference operationalised the Loss and Damage Fund, which was established by COP27 in 2022. It also concluded the first global stocktake of climate action under the Paris Agreement and adopted a decision calling for accelerated short-term action and an orderly transition away from fossil fuels towards climate-neutral energy systems – the first-ever COP decision to address fossil fuels.

Climate change adaptation has been gathering momentum. At COP26 in 2021, the parties to the
UNFCCC agreed to develop a work programme to deliver on the global goal on adaptation; at COP28, in December 2023, they adopted the framework for achieving that goal. Adaptation efforts should be led locally, by those most at risk, those who know the territory. The EU has been introducing tools, initiatives and strategies to enhance all aspects of climate change adaptation. While there are still barriers to the proper up-take of practical adaptation actions at the local level, in many cases solutions for overcoming them are already available.

The importance of engaging non-Party stakeholders (businesses, cities, subnational regions, investors, and civil society) in the multilateral process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been long recognized by Parties; dating back to the Lima-Paris Action Agenda launched at the 20th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 20), the appointment of the High-Level Champions since COP 21, and the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action launched by the High-Level Champions at COP 22

While national governments tend to be at the forefront of the fight against climate change – as signatories to the Paris Agreement, for example – at this year’s COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai, local authorities are also joining them at the table.

As the COP28 climate summit unfolds, cities, regions, local and subnational governments and countries unite to demonstrate their indispensable role in climate action, setting the stage for an integrated, inclusive, and impactful global climate agenda. The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency, which voices subnational governments in the UNFCCC process, presented its position paper with more than 40 endorsing entities. The paper emphasizes a strategic response to the IPCC’s warning of likely exceeding a 1.5°C temperature rise by 2027. It calls for an integrated approach involving cities, regions, and local governments to limit global warming and enhance adaptation measures.

‘Subnational governments’ – including municipal, regional and provincial authorities – lack the formal status of negotiating parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). But they have a vital role to play in informing and helping to shape international climate action, as they are often the key delivery partners for on-the-ground policies. This paper looks at the role of subnational governments in influencing global climate ambition , and makes recommendations for how these actors can increase their influence in the future.