Mayors, subnational and national leaders, alongside key representatives in the urban climate space, convened on 18 June at the Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues to reflect on how to strengthen national climate plans (NDCs) through multilevel action. The event highlighted the importance of partnerships to deliver not just ambitious plans, but real climate action for a thriving future.

Climate negotiations hold value only when backed by real commitments, and those commitments only become reality when national plans are linked to local action through strong partnerships. This was the core message echoed throughout high-level panels at the “Insights for Multilevel Action,” which brought together 170 delegates from over 28 countries, spanning every global region.

As geopolitical tensions mount and global resources stretch thin, climate action can’t afford to be top-down or fragmented. If we are serious about responding to the climate emergency, neither national governments nor local and regional ones can go it alone. We need deep, institutionalized multilevel partnerships, and that’s what CHAMP and the road to COP30 are all about.

Why multilevel collaboration is the missing link in climate policy

Multilevel partnerships aren’t just a governance preference; they are a functional necessity. As Niels Annen, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), put it plainly: “The implementation really matters, and that’s why we have been supporting the Daring Cities and the CHAMP initiative.”

He emphasized that while national governments drive the climate agenda, local implementation is where change happens: “We need to support cities and encourage local governments to allocate the necessary funds.” His message was clear: “Cities don’t just need to be consulted, they must be equipped.”

Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Managing Director of GIZ, echoed that sentiment, noting: “Municipalities are the real powerhouses of climate action. They know what they need.” She added: “Subnational inclusion doesn’t just improve processes; it makes climate plans more grounded, realistic, and ambitious”

Partnering for local action

Katja Dörner, Mayor of Bonn, Germany, showcased how citizen engagement feeds directly into national climate planning. Bonn’s “Climate Action Plan of the Citizens,” created through the Bonn4Future initiative, is now shaping the city’s 2035 goals. With participatory districts and open data, Bonn is showing how local ownership makes policy stick.

In Coral Springs, Florida, Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen shared that despite limited federal support, the city has aligned with Race to Zero, used ClearPath to track emissions, and incentivized green business practices. “When state and federal systems fall short, it’s partnerships, communities, and local leadership that step up.”

Marjorie Kauffmann, State Secretary for Environment and Infrastructure, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Vice-President, ICLEI, echoed that multilevel action and partnerships sometimes arise from crises. After devastating floods in 2024, Rio Grande do Sul launched a state resilience plan in partnership with ICLEI, now used by over 440 municipalities out of 496. “Things happen in the territory,” she said. “We’re organizing not just to respond, but to prepare.”

A striking example of a policy in place is the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, presented by Xu Liu, Director of its Ecology and Environment Bureau. Built on what was once a polluted and barren landscape – including a decades-old wastewater pond – the Eco-City now features a thriving lake, over 50% green coverage, and walkable neighborhoods. It has become a model of multilevel and international collaboration, transforming environmental goals into urban reality. As Liu put it, “Our practice has shown the possibility for cities to balance economic growth and environmental friendliness.”

Jane Lomax-Smith, Mayor of Adelaide, Australia, shared a powerful message about the capacity of subnational governments to lead climate action, even without full national alignment. Drawing from experience, she emphasized that meaningful change can happen when local and regional authorities take initiative: “You don’t need everyone to agree – if you have power at a subnational level, you can make change.”

She described how Adelaide’s subnational government legislated for net zero by 2050 as early as 2007, advancing Australia’s energy transition by combining legislation with incentives for private investment, such as feed-in tariffs and streamlined planning for renewables. While she supports multilevel partnerships, her core message is that progress doesn’t have to wait: “Don’t be despondent if you can’t get a multi-level partnership, you have enormous power,” she warned.

From planning to policy: Financing and enabling local implementation

Lin O’Grady of the EBRD reminded us that successful planning means nothing without finance. “For us, it’s about action, it’s about delivering.”

Through the Green Cities programme, EBRD has already mobilized €5 billion to help 60+ cities align infrastructure investment with climate goals, often bundling small, non-bankable projects to make them viable. “It’s very rarely in my experience that you do not have to work with the government,” she added. For EBRD, multilevel partnerships are not a trend, they’re the operating model.

Niels Annen emphasized that mobilizing private capital is essential to closing the climate finance gap, especially at a time when official development assistance (ODA) is limited. He pointed out the continued need for funding in areas like urban infrastructure and acknowledged recent efforts, such as the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, where Germany launched a new platform to help mobilize private finance.

However, he made clear that private capital cannot replace public climate finance commitments: “Is that the solution alone? Certainly not, and it should also not be a way to justify cutting climate finance.”

Annen stressed the importance of balanced responsibility among governments and the private sector and called for more effective and innovative financial instruments that actually deliver impact.

Anna Hall, Head of Public Affairs at Alfa Laval, brought the private sector perspective into the multilevel equation, urging cities to lead by unlocking energy efficiency and public procurement. “Energy efficiency is the first fuel and it’s the only way we can reach our targets for 2030.” From waste heat recovery to district cooling, the solutions already exist, and cities are the ones with the power to implement them. She called on cities to lead the energy transition by scaling efficiency and unlocking the full potential of public procurement. “Cities must leverage this tool to activate demand and accelerate the green transition.”

The NDC opportunity: A test of real inclusion

The new wave of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) is an unprecedented opportunity to move beyond political promises and into shared responsibility.

Dorah Marema, Head Municipal Sustainability Portfolio, South African Local Government Association (SALGA), described how local governments were finally included in shaping the national NDC through the Presidential Climate Commission and Town Hall COPs. “There’s a difference, we are engaged. Engagement means you are given the information to make a meaningful contribution.”

In Brazil’s national context, COP30 Urban Solutions Envoy Philip Yang added a bold challenge: “There’s no future without the urban, without cities at the core of implementation.” His call? Bring the New Urban Agenda into formal convergence with the UNFCCC.

In addition, State Secretary Niels Annen emphasized that updating and implementing NDCs must go hand-in-hand with empowering cities and local governments, whose role in climate action is crucial but often under-supported. While national governments drive NDC development, it is at the local level where climate policy becomes real, and this requires resources, capacity, and multilevel cooperation.

What Belém can deliver: A turning point for multilevel governance

As the host city of COP30, Belém is not just preparing venues; it’s preparing a legacy. Extraordinary Secretary André Godinho put it simply: “When I speak about COP30, I speak about legacy – the legacy the COP is creating in the region.”

Belém is one of the least tree-covered cities in Brazil. But with a new climate plan co-developed with ICLEI and strong alignment across all levels of government, it’s stepping up. “The world must understand that being in Belém means understanding how climate change touches people’s lives. The Amazon is not just trees, 70% of its population is urban; cities are pivotal in this process.”

Godinho reflects: “We are discussing climate exactly where it should be discussed, because the Amazon can deliver the solutions to the problems we are all facing.”

That sentiment was echoed by Ms Hoven: “The good news for COP30 in Belém is that municipalities and cities are the real powerhouses of climate action. This is where people-centered development and climate solutions meet, and where tangible implementation is already happening.”

As we look to Belém, the world’s cities aren’t just hoping to be heard, they’re ready to lead. As Mayor Dörner says: “What I really hope for COP30 is that we achieve a new model of multilevel cooperation, one that brings city perspectives to the table in a much stronger and more structured way than ever before.”

“Cities are already leading by example and there is no more pressing time for us to really work together,” Mayor Dörner concludes.

Featured photo credit: ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

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