Since COP 21 United Nations Climate Change Conference convened in Paris, the international community has advocated for the mobilisation of stronger, more ambitious, and urgent climate action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. At COP 25 held in Madrid, Parties to the UNFCCC acknowledged through decision 1/CP.25 that the collaboration between Parties and non-Party stakeholders is more critical than ever.

It was then agreed that the work of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action (MPGCA) and the role of the High-Level Champions must continue to build alliances and enable collaboration between governments, cities, regions, businesses, and civil society to scale up climate action to collectively strive for the 1.5 °C temperature goal and a climate-neutral and resilient world.

In 2020, High-Level Champions Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping launched a consultation for Parties and observer organisations to provide feedback on how to improve the Marrakech Partnership for enhancing climate ambition.   

Regions4 has supported the MPGCA since its inception and welcomes its continuation until 2025. As one of the LGMA core members, our organisation has provided 7 recommendations to boost ambition, increase subnational advocacy and build innovative partnerships for climate action through the MPGCA as follows:

  1. Increase recognition and support to subnational governments as essential players in mainstreaming climate actions at the local level, while also taking rural and urban realities into account.
  2. Advocate for vertical integration and multi-level governance to strengthen dialogue between the national, subnational, and local levels, for policy coherence and effective implementation.  
  3. Call for a balanced approach on mitigation and adaptation climate action to address the long-term impacts of climate change, while reducing the overall vulnerability of our territories through short-term adaptation actions.  
  4. Facilitate the integration of agendas to find synergies and common solutions for the climate change and biodiversity emergencies towards sustainable development that leaves no one behind.
  5. Ensure inclusiveness within the MPGCA particularly including more stakeholders from the global South, ensuring that financial resources and language are not barriers for their participation and engagement with the global climate agenda.
  6. Review the MPGCA stakeholder structure to gain in transparency and operational efficiency while providing higher visibility to non-party stakeholders and enabling interactions with Parties for higher climate ambition and action.
  7. Ensure a diverse background of High-Level Champions, including more non-party stakeholders and advocating for a gender balance.  

To view the full text as well as other inputs uploaded to the UNFCCC Submission Portal by Parties and observer organisations, please visit: High-Level Champions consultation on the MPGCA

To find out more about our work in the Climate Change Programme, please click here.