Municipal Climate Partnerships

The objective of the project 'Municipal Climate Partnerships' is to initiate and strengthen expert cooperation between African, Latin American and Asian municipalities and their partner municipalities in Germany in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation. This means systematically integrating these areas of expertise into the work of the municipal partnerships. To achieve this, the municipal partnerships – closely supported by the project team – spend approximately two years developing joint programmes of action that provide long-term strategic planning for their work together.

The programmes of action should describe both broad goals and specific activities for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Possible key areas of activity in the climate partnerships include for instance renewable energy, energy efficiency, solid waste management, adaptation to the impacts of climate change, sustainable mobility, sustainable agriculture and forestry, water supply and sanitation, and environmental education. The programmes of action are prepared in a participatory process that involves various actors from the realms of local administration, policy-making and civil society.

Responsibility for implementing the programmes of action rests with the two municipalities involved in each case. The Service Agency and LAG 21 NRW advise the climate partnerships on implementing the programmes of action and on the funding and other support available).

The project 'Municipal Climate Partnerships' as a whole is implemented in phases. Each project phase comprises roughly 10 climate partnerships. Every phase begins with an international kick-off workshop, followed by a total of three missions and network meetings in the Global South and North. The results workshop, at which the joint programmes of action are presented, marks the transition to the phase of implementing the climate partnerships.

To help drive the development of the joint programmes of action within the climate partnerships we offer the municipalities a large number of inputs to support the process.

These include:

• funding of reciprocal missions carried out by municipal experts
• technical and methodological advice on developing the programme of action and consolidating the climate partnership
• organisation and funding of network meetings for the participating municipalities and international workshops to kick off the project phase and present the results.

To subsequently implement specific activities described in the programmes of action, the municipalities can also make use of further support instruments provided by the Service Agency and Engagement Global. Many climate partnerships have already begun implementing their programmes of action, and in doing so are using support instruments such as the Programme to Support Municipal Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Projects (FKKP), the Fund for Small-Scale Municipal Development Cooperation Projects or the Partnership Projects for Sustainable Local Development Programme.

Programme to Support Municipal Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Projects (FKKP)
Fund for Small-Scale Municipal Development Cooperation Projects
Partnership Projects for Sustainable Local Development Programme

Participants in the project include partnerships between African, Latin American and Asian municipalities, and municipalities in Germany. The services we offer are available to municipalities and local authorities of any size or type.

The main actors of the expert exchange are the local authorities themselves, supported by other local actors such as councillors, civil society, municipally-owned companies and locally-based research institutions.

For each new project phase the Service Agency publishes a call for declarations of interest in taking part in the project. Only German municipalities may apply. If you would like to take part with your German partner municipality then please discuss this together with your partner. Unfortunately, municipalities that do not have a German partner cannot take part. Nonetheless, you are most welcome to get in touch with us for general advice.

The most important requirement for joining the project is your willingness together with your partner municipality to draw up a joint programme of action for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and work together on a long-term basis. Each municipality taking part signs an agreement with the Service Agency describing what inputs the Service Agency will provide and what it expects of the municipality. As well as expecting your active participation in the network meetings, international workshops and missions, we also expect different dedicated departments within your municipality, e.g. the office for international affairs, office for environmental affairs/climate change, to work together effectively with each other and with selected civil society stakeholders.

The project was launched in 2011. Since then, several further phases have been initiated, during each of which new partnerships were added. The first eight phases of the project have already been completed. A total of 77 climate partnerships between German municipalities and municipalities in African, Latin American and South-East Asian countries have prepared joint programmes of action. Eleven climate partnerships between German municipalities and municipal partners in Africa and Latin America are currently involved in the ninth phase of the project.

Phases of the project

• Phase 1 (2011): Germany, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania - 9 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 2 (2012): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Jamaica, Nicaragua - 14 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 3 (2013): Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Germany, Ghana, Lesotho, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia - 10 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 4 (2014): Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, Nicaragua - 10 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 5 (2015): Germany, Philippines, Viet Nam - 5 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 6 (2017): Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Germany, Namibia, Nicaragua, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Zimbabwe - 12 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 7 (2019): Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia - 10 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 8 (2020): Ethiopia, Germany, Namibia, Uganda, Senegal, Tanzania - 8 Climate Partnerships

• Phase 9 (2022): Argentina, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Mexico, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Tunisia – 11 Climate Partnerships