Climate change is no longer a distant scenario—cities across the world are already grappling with the escalating impacts of floods, fires, heatwaves and rising seas. Yet even as they stand on the front lines, local governments receive less than 10% of global climate finance while bearing responsibility for many of the systems—transport, buildings, waste, water—that define national climate trajectories. This mismatch is one of the biggest obstacles to effective climate action.

The new UrbanShift Multilevel Governance for Integrated Urban Planning report illustrates how this gap can be closed. Drawing on the experiences of nine countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the report shows how well-designed National–Local Dialogues (NLDs) and Multilevel Governance Roadmaps can turn national ambition into locally delivered climate solutions. It provides governments, development partners, and practitioners with an insightful, practical, and evidence-rich guide on how to build climate governance that truly works. 

What will readers gain from this report?

1. A clear understanding of why multilevel governance matters

National and local governments must work together. The reports explains:

• Why fragmented mandates and policy silos slow climate action;
• how local governments can accelerate national climate goals when properly empowered; and
• what a functional governance ecosystem looks like in practice.

Drawing from real examples—from China’s dual-carbon strategy to Rwanda’s integration of local priorities into its NDC 3.0—the report demonstrates that countries with structured national–local collaboration move faster and more coherently toward climate-resilient development.

2. A practical guide to National–Local Dialogues (NLDs) and Multilevel Governance Roadmaps

One of the report’s core contributions is to unpack what NLDs are, how they are designed, and why they work. The report provides a step-by-step explanation of:

• How dialogues were planned and facilitated across nine diverse governance systems;
• how the Talanoa Dialogue framework (“Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?”) shaped meaningful collaboration;
• how Multilevel Governance Roadmaps translate commitments into actionable steps, responsibilities, and timelines; and
• how Roadmaps remain “living tools” that guide implementation long after workshops end.

Whether you are a national official, mayor, development partner, planner or researcher, this report can help equip you with a ready-to-use blueprint for convening your own multilevel governance process.

3. A global tour of how countries used NLDs to drive climate action

The heart of the report features nine country snapshots, each summarizing:

• The focus of their dialogues;
• the institutions involved;
• the barriers identified;
• the collaborative solutions proposed; and
• the concrete outcomes achieved.

Readers will gain insights into:

• China’s alignment of biodiversity and low-carbon planning across megacities;
• India’s innovation in transit-oriented development, digital governance, and gender-responsive mobility;
• Indonesia’s pioneering integration of gender-inclusive climate finance;
• Costa Rica’s process of drafting a law on urban flood resilience;
• Brazil’s metropolitan governance reforms;
• Rwanda’s localization of NDC 3.0;
• Argentina’s re-alignment of national–local priorities amid political transition;
• Morocco’s national circular economy push anchored in multilevel engagement; and
• Sierra Leone’s multisectoral workshop linking spatial planning, informality, and waste governance.

These stories collectively show that—even in very different political systems—dialogues can unlock new commitments, improve coordination, and bring finance closer to city projects.

4. Honest reflections on challenges—and tested recommendations for the future

The report does not shy away from confronting the real governance barriers countries encountered. The report reflects on:

• Institutional fragmentation and overlapping mandates;
• limited fiscal decentralization;
• political turnover;
• uneven technical capacities;
• gaps in gender and social inclusion; and
• challenges in synchronizing timelines among implementation partners.

For each challenge, the report offers practical recommendations, including:

• Embedding NLDs in formal national processes like NDC cycles;
• treating Roadmaps as implementation tools—not one-time reports;
• starting small with achievable actions to build trust;
• integrating gender-responsive design from the outset;
• building permanent coordination units to protect continuity; and
• ensuring finance institutions participate early.

These lessons are immediately applicable for any government or organization seeking to strengthen its climate governance framework.

5. A vision for scaling a proven model of climate collaboration

Finally, the report looks ahead, outlining how NLDs and Roadmaps can shape the next decade of climate action. It argues that:

• Modest investments in multilevel governance unlock much larger climate and development benefits;
• scaling NLDs can help countries close up to 37% of the climate ambition gap in CHAMP-endorsing countries;
• institutionalizing Roadmaps can ensure continuity even through crises or political change; and
• linking governance processes with climate finance accelerates real projects on the ground.