Alongside the Climate Change for Local Leaders, hosted by Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of the City of Paris and Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, a group of regions had the opportunity to share views and ideas with UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.

Organized by The Climate Group States & Regions Alliance, the meeting had the participation of nrg4SD members as São Paulo, Sud Comoé, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Tombouctou and RhoneAlpes. Premier Jay Weatherill of South Australia facilitated the meeting which emphasized the willingness of regional governments to collaborate with the UN and Member-States towards a lowcarbon development path, strengthening the global response to climate change. 

Regions at the forefront of climate change play a fundamental role to raise the global level of ambition to reduce GHG emissions and tackle the effects of a changing environment. Secretary Patricia Iglecias, from the State of São Paulo, presented the importance of collaborating with the private sector, and also of publicly reporting on the progress of climate actions through the Compact of States and Regions. 

Premier Weatherill and Secretary Correa, from Rio de Janeiro State, highlighted the importance of the recently launched initiative RegionsAdapt. Considering many present and future unavoidable consequences of climate change, it will be crucial these territories develop, support and implement long-term strategies on adaptation. Based on that, leaders asked for further support from the UN system to carry on actions on the ground and Secretary General replied: “Today, the Compact is launching a new global initiative called RegionsAdapt in which its members commit to develop climate adaptation plans and report on their progress”. 

President Ibrahim Cisse, from the government of Tombouctou, called upon the empowerment of local communities to ensure participatory action, taking into consideration the needs and specific context of each territory. 

UN Secretary General thanked all the leaders for the discussion and promised to take all requests into consideration. Ban Ki-Moon recognized the key role played by regions and the relevance of bringing them on board to achieve the transformative change the world need. 

ENDS 

Media contact
Thais Ferraz, Communications Officer, nrg4SD
M: +34 633 235 432
tferraz@nrg4sd.org 

About nrg4SD 

The Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development, nrg4SD is a non-profit international organization representing subnational governments and associations of subnational governments at global level. Established in 2002 at the World Summit of Johannesburg, today nrg4SD totals some 50 states, regions and provinces from 30 countries and 7 associations of subnational governments. nrg4SD campaigns internationally for the recognition of the role played by subnational governments in ensuring more effective sustainable development models. The network also focuses on climate change and biodiversity, fostering the dissemination of members’ innovative actions, and encouraging cooperation and partnership programmes for the exchange of best practices.

nrg4sd.org | @nrg4SD | #RegionsAdapt | #Regions4Climate 

About The Climate Group 

The Climate Group is an award-winning, international non-profit. Our goal is a prosperous, low carbon future. We believe this will be achieved through a ‘clean revolution’: the rapid scale-up of low carbon energy and technology. We work with corporate and government partners to develop climate finance mechanisms, business models which promote innovation, and supportive policy frameworks. We convene leaders, share hard evidence of successful low carbon growth, and pilot practical solutions which can be replicated worldwide. The Climate Group also convenes Climate Week NYC. In September 2015, Climate Week NYC hosted more than 120 events and served as the collaborative space for climate events in support of the UN Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The Climate Group States & Regions Alliance brings together sub-national government leaders from around the world in a powerful, high-profile network that shares expertise, demonstrates impact and influences the international climate dialogue. Our 35 members represent some of the most economically powerful regions in the world and include governments from across Europe, the Americas, South Asia, Australia and Africa, collectively accounting for 340 million citizens, 11% of global GDP and approx. 2.8 GtCO2e. 

TheClimateGroup.org | @ClimateGroup | #StatesandRegions