Further, faster, together

Further, faster, together – that is the slogan of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 23. Local and regional governments are leading the way. On 12 November 2017, at the occasion of the Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders, they adopted their Bonn-Fiji-Committment. Around 1000 representatives of cities and regions from over 60 countries took part in the summit, among them also stakeholders of the Municipal Climate Partnerships project.

Alonso Luna Alfaro from the City of Alajuela, Costa Rica, and Mariana Daza de Boeck from the City of La Paz, Bolivia, presented the Municipal Climate Partnerships Alajuela – Lahr and La Paz – Bonn on a panel about “Transboundary Cooperation” as an example of direct city-to-city cooperation. Thereby they referred also to the results of the International Network Meeting of Municipal Climate Partnerships, which took place prior to the Climate Summit.

Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) highlighted in his speech the potential of cities and regions as partners in climate action: “The world need to be connected at its roots and these roots are the municipalities.” He explained that global climate action could be accelerated through partnerships, know-how transfer and sharing of innovations. “Cities cannot win the fight on their own, but without cities, the fight cannot be won at all.”

H.E. Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji and COP23 President emphasized the commitment and dedication of municipalities: "We can draw from the power and enthusiasm of local and regional leaders in the mission to tackle climate change. So many of you have already demonstrated how to make decisions and implement them."

Solly Msimanga, Executive Mayor of Tshwane, South Africa, presented the cooperation among African Mayors and stressed the importance of international cooperation: "Africa is looking for partners and Africa wants to lead the way."

The Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders was hold by the network ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability together with a number of partners – among others Engagement Global. The City of Bonn and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia co-hosted the Climate Summit, which was supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).  

For the first time in the history, the summit took place in the action zone of COP 23. In his special address Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor of California and Founding Chair of R20, recognized the dedication of the sub-national level: “Cities, states and regions hold tremendous power, especially when you work together…We are the laboratories of reform, we are the engines of innovation and we are where the action is," says Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Our spotlight could not be any brighter; our megaphone could not be any louder."