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."