ICLEI’s Town Hall COP Initiative is emerging as a powerful model to make climate action truly locally led, transformation-oriented, and, most importantly, nationally relevant.
Since launching in early 2025, the Town Hall COP Initiative has gained momentum, with 70+ local governments and civil society organizations registered to host an event. Seven cities in six countries have already hosted their events, and South Africa became the first national government to officially endorse the initiative. Read on for the latest updates on how local voices are shaping climate action ahead of COP30.
Town Hall COPs are redefining what inclusive, multilevel climate governance looks like on the road to COP30.
On 13 March 2025, Greater Sydney hosted one of the first Town Hall COPs for 2025 – part of a growing global effort to place local priorities at the center of national and international climate decision-making.
Throughout 2024, Daring Cities spotlighted the Town Hall COPs initiative as an innovative mechanism linking local climate emergency action to national and global efforts. How do the Town Hall COPs fit into the current global climate arena? We brought this discussion to COP29.
In the lead-up to COP28, 26 cities and regions hosted their local events that officially contributed to the first Global Stocktake by turning their town halls into COP venues. Explore the process, the outcomes, and practical examples of this inventory exercise that brings cities and regions’ voices into global climate discussions. As COP28 unfolds in…
17-18 November are COP30’s days to elevate both planetary and community stewardship, with a spotlight on youth. For young people – and particularly YOUNGO, the official children and youth constituency within the UNFCCC process – COP30 is an opportunity to continue advocating for multi-generational priorities into the proceedings.
As demand for cooling continues to soar, local and regional governments are looking at both technological and design solutions.
Mostly not. And that’s an issue, since one of the drivers of success for COP30 could be how well the NDCs 3.0 reflect and enable climate action in cities.
Every year, the Bonn Climate Talks – formally the sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SBs) – serve as the mid-year checkpoint on the road to the annual COP. With over 6,000 national delegates and civil society representatives expected, the SB62 (16-26 June 2025) is far from routine.
Looking ahead to COP30, what cities and regions do in advance of this global climate summit may matter more than the conference itself. On the road to Belém, local and regional governments have a unique opportunity to engage with their national governments, shift the trajectory of the climate emergency, and push for inclusive, multilevel climate action.
At COP29, this session at the Korea Pavilion presented how to build net-zero cities through legal innovation and citizen engagement.