The Paris Agreement celebrated its 5^th anniversary on 12 December 2020 but still, the world needs increased ambition and stepped-up action to limit the global temperature to 1.5ºC. COP26 will be held from 1 to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, and it is set out to be one of the most important Conference of the Parties on Climate Change of recent years, with high expectations for countries to present their renewed commitments and reinforced plans to combat this global emergency and build the resilience of our planet.  

However, transformative change will only be attained through an efficient and strong multilateral system, that recognises the role of the key implementers of climate action and provides regional governments with a seat at the decision-making table.

On the road to COP26, Regions4 continues to advocate for the international recognition of regional leadership for climate action, and to further develop partnerships and alliances to achieve the global goals, raising our voice and highlighting the importance of both mitigation and adaptation measures in tackling common problems.

Last March, Regions4 joined the UN’s Race to Resilience campaign as official partner, through the flagship initiative RegionsAdapt, to continue empowering regional action and enhancing multi-level governance on adaptation for a resilient planet. 

As the date for COP26 in Glasgow nears, Regions4 has now partnered with the Under2 Coalition to launch #WhatsAtState – a campaign elevating the voice of regional governments ahead of this crucial summit. It seeks to demonstrate what each state or region stands to lose if countries do not keep to the Paris Agreement targets and take urgent action to move beyond pledges and towards meaningful change. It will also reinforce the visibility of the work regional governments are doing to set and realise net zero emission targets, as well as implement adaptation actions to reduce vulnerability and achieve the resilience in each territory.

The campaign will run during the 100 days until COP26 to give greater visibility to states and regions already making a difference through their policies and actions, as well as their pledges to the Race To Zero and the Race To Resilience.

Members of Regions4, RegionsAdapt and the Under2 Coalition are welcome to join this campaign and get in touch with Regions4 Secretariat at info@regions4.org  

To follow the campaign and join the online conversation, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Further information

Learn more about our key actions on climate by visiting the RegionsAdapt page.

To learn about best practices on regional climate adaptation, and read the latest outcomes of the RegionsAdapt Brief Report 2020, visit Regions4 Knowledge Hub.

To learn more about our partner Under2 Coalition and its work on mitigation, please visit their website.