In December this year, governments from around the world will meet in Paris for the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP21). The COP21 Climate Conference is seen as the best opportunity for nations to reach an agreement on emissions reductions that will keep global temperature increases below two degrees Celsius. All of the world’s climate change mitigation efforts are now focused on Paris.

Cities and regions will play a vital role in any emissions reductions agreement. Many are already acting, and have the potential to do much more. That’s why ICLEI and a wide range of partners have created the Transformative Actions Program (TAP). The TAP will bring together the most ambitious projects and plans from the world’s cities and regions, and will showcase them to the world at the COP21.

Above is a short teaser video for the TAP. We invite you to share it as widely as possible!

What is the TAP?

The TAP is a 10-year initiative by networks of local and subnational governments to accelerate the implementation of local action to tackle climate change.

Its aims include:

• supporting climate investment in urban areas over the next ten years;
• increasing the scope and quality of local and regional climate action;
• contributing to the elaboration of new finance mechanisms for local and regional climate action;
• encouraging multi-level cooperation and governance in the area of climate mitigation and adaptation; and
• raising the visibility of local and subnational climate action at the national and international level.

Why TAP?

We know that cities and regions have ambitious, inclusive and cross-cutting climate initiatives. But these do not figure highly enough in global discussions, and are not brought to the attention of key implementation partners, including funders.

The TAP aims to change this. It mobilizes key actors and raises the profile of current and potential climate action at the local level. As a result, the local climate action that we need will happen more often, at greater speed, and with greater support and ambition.

How does the TAP work?

The TAP has a political ambition: to advocate for better access to climate finance for cities and regions.

And it has a local ambition: to connect subnational authorities with financial bodies, and to help cities and regions to design bankable climate projects.

Together, these actions will raise the ambitions of local authorities, accelerate climate action, and make these actions more visible, spurring more investment.

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Join us and TAP your potential! Cities and regions should apply by 15 September 2015 – please visit the website for more details.

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Would you like to join the wide range of partners on the TAP? Email tap@iclei.org.