About the Marrakech Partnership

Credit: UNFCCC

Launched by the High-Level Champions at COP 22 in 2016 and welcomed by the Parties, the Marrakech Partnership is a framework for continued engagement of all actors involved in implementation of climate action. As a complementary platform and not a substitute for negotiations among Parties, it aims to support implementation of more climate action, fostering greater ambition on mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology and capacity-building and enable collaboration between national governments and non-Party stakeholders such as cities, regions, businesses, investors, and civil society including youth, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Based on the COP 29 decision to welcome the continuation of the Marrakech Partnership and to continue appointing Climate High-Level Champions for 2026–2030, the Champions of the COP 29 and 30 Presidencies followed the good practice from the previous cycle in developing, as tasked by the COP 30 Presidency, a new five-year vision and plan for the Global Climate Action Agenda: one that builds on the significant progress made over the last 10 years and supports the implementation of already agreed outcomes from the UNFCCC process, such as the GST.

Under their leadership, with direction from the incumbent and incoming COP Presidencies and advice from the UNFCCC secretariat, the Global Climate Action Agenda brings together and mobilizes voluntary climate action by civil society, businesses, investors, cities and other subnational authorities, and countries to intensify emission reductions, climate adaptation and the transition to sustainable economies, as set out in the Paris Agreement.

At the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in Paris, it was agreed that mobilizing stronger and more ambitious climate action by all Parties and non-Party stakeholders is urgently required if the goals of the Paris Agreement are to be achieved. In decision 1/CP.21, the commitments from all actors are recognized, including those launched through the Lima–Paris Action Agenda, as well as the urgent need to scale up the global response to climate change and support greater ambition from governments. To ensure a durable connection between the Convention and the many voluntary and collaborative actions, Parties decided that two high-level champions shall be appointed.

In June 2016, the champions published their roadmap for global climate action in which they described their tasks. In addition, the champions launched a consultation among Parties and non-Parties on their road map allowing for written submissions. They posed five questions to guide the submissions regarding the understanding of the landscape for global climate action; the role of the champions; the tracking and showcasing initiatives, the high-level event and the role of the TEMS.

The road map and the submissions received were discussed with Parties and non-Party stakeholders at different meetings: the Alliances and Coalitions Global Forum in Rabat (June), the Climate Chance in Nantes (September), the Climate Week NYC (September) and the Pre-COP in Rabat (September). (Synthesis report on the submissions). On 28 October, the champions made publicly available their reflections on the way forward, as a prelude to the Global Climate Action at COP 22. This document served as basis for consultations with Parties and non-Party stakeholders during COP 22.

During the two weeks at COP 22, the champions socialized the 'Reflections on the Way Forward' with Parties and observers in order to gather their inputs. Based on these consultations, the champions finalized their proposal for the future of global climate action and on 17 November presented and published the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action.

On 4 May 2017, the champions published a proposed approach, draft work programme (739 kB) and an impact and priority tracker (789 kB) . During SB46, the champions consulted with Parties and observers on these documents. Based on these consultations, the champions revised and published their approach for the Marrakech Partnership (347 kB).

In response to the mandate given by Parties at COP 25 to explore how to improve the work under the Marrakech Partnership for enhancing ambition and after a thorough process to gather feedback from Parties and non-Party stakeholders, the champions have developed a 5-year plan of the improved Marrakech Partnership for enhancing ambition, which was welcomed by Parties at COP 26 as part of the Glasgow Climate Pact. The Improved Marrakech Partnership for Enhancing Ambition 2021-2025 outlines the vision, mandate, core functions and tools, and updated structures intended to increase the scale and impact of the Marrakech Partnership work through 2025.

Based on the COP 29 decision to welcome the continuation of the Marrakech Partnership and to continue appointing Climate High-Level Champions for 2026–2030, the Champions of the COP 29 and 30 Presidencies followed the good practice from the previous cycle in developing, as tasked by the COP 30 Presidency, a new five-year vision and plan for the Global Climate Action Agenda: one that builds on the significant progress made over the last 10 years and supports the implementation of already agreed outcomes from the UNFCCC process, such as the GST.

In alignment with the direction provided by the COP Presidencies, the five-year vision for the Global Climate Action Agenda for 2026–2030 is to accelerate voluntary climate action through an enabling architecture that focuses on addressing barriers to scaling up solutions that benefit people, the economy and the planet and advancing the delivery of outcomes already agreed under the UNFCCC process, in support of Parties and contributing to the achievement of the collective goals of the Paris Agreement and the GST.

The Global Climate Action Agenda and the renewed Marrakech Partnership will be guided by key principles and structured around six thematic Axes related to the outcomes of the first GST. Each Axis will host a number of Activation Groups that convene existing voluntary climate action initiatives driving progress on specific Key Objectives and scaling collaborative, results-oriented climate action. Engaging on a wider scale, the Communities of Action will operate under the Axes as a conduit for broader inclusion in the Global Climate Action Agenda, enabling information flow and dynamic entry points to support the plans to accelerate solutions and work carried out within initiatives in the Activation Groups. The aim of this new framework is to provide continuity and structure, while maintaining the flexibility and adaptability required for an effective Global Climate Action Agenda.

^NEWTo enable prompt and effective operationalization of the Global Climate Action Agenda immediately following COP 30, the Climate High-Level Champions and COP 30 and COP 31 Presidencies, supported by UNFCCC secretariat and Climate Champions Team developed a detailed Terms of Reference of the Organizational Structure of the Global Climate Action Agenda, outlining the core components and structures required to translate the vision into a fully actionable framework.

KEY TOOLS

As outlined in the five-year vision, an annual five-step implementation cycle will guide the delivery of work under the Global Climate Action Agenda and renewed Marrakech Partnership for 2026–2030 and be comprised of the following steps: (1) Review; (2) Convene and coordinate; (3) Measure and track progress; (4) Showcase solutions and provide inspiration; (5) Scale up solutions. This annual five-step implementation cycle is implemented with the following key tools:

Granary of solutions: an online platform showcasing inspiring solutions. Initiatives will be invited to demonstrate that many solutions exist for the climate, the economy, and people, providing real-world examples.
Transparency frameworks: The Global Climate Action Agenda will continue to strengthen transparency, credibility and regular follow-up of voluntary action through continuous improvement of UNFCCC reporting platforms, particularly NAZCA and Yearbook of Global Climate Action, to drive voluntary action and stimulate implementation, while increasing visibility of implementation through both global socioeconomic indicators and initiative-level indicators that incorporate quantitative and qualitative data.
Plans to accelerate solutions: concise, multi-stakeholder, action-oriented workplans summarizing key actions to unblock progress and voluntary commitments to accelerate implementation of high-impact solutions to deliver on the key objectives

Key objectives for 2026 and priorities for COP 31 under the six thematic axes

Credit: UN Climate Change

Since the release of the foundational documents, the various sets of Champions have published rolling work programmes and progress reports (Achievements) for their work and the Marrakech Partnership:

Work programmes for the High-Level Champions and the Marrakech Partnership	Achievements of the High-Level Champions and the Marrakech Partnership
2026 Work Programme
2025 Work Programme
2024 Work Programme	January 2024 to May 2024 Achievements
2023 Work Programme	January 2023 to May 2023 Achievements
2022 Work Programme	December 2021 to May 2022 Achievements; June 2022 to October 2022 Achievements
2020-2021 Work Programme	January 2020 to April 2021 Achievements; April 2021 to November 2021 Achievements
2019 Work Programme	January 2019 to December 2019 Achievements

Aimed to be an open, encouraging, and supportive framework for collaboration on climate action, the Marrakech Partnership (MP) welcomes all interested coalitions and initiatives to express interest in joining the Partnership. All participants in the Marrakech Partnership will be listed publicly. There are certain criteria and shared values that coalitions and initiatives must meet and align with to ensure that those who join share our common goal and can guarantee they will help drive action and increase ambition within the Partnership’s remit.

How to join the Communities of Action of the Marrakech Partnership

Communities of Action of the Marrakech Partnership

The Communities of Action serve as a flexible, inclusive engagement platform under the Axis, providing an entry point for a broad range of actors to contribute insights, solutions, and implementation intelligence to support the work of Activation Groups and Axis Coordination Groups, including Plans to Accelerate Solutions (PAS).

The platform aims to enable inclusion of diverse and under-represented actors and regions; bottom-up flow of implementation insights, challenges, and innovations; and engagement to support PAS, Granary of Solutions, and other outputs of GCAA.

The Communities of Action help aggregate, supplement and leverage the existing wider stakeholders that already contribute to PAS delivery plans, including those not yet participating in Activation Groups. While referred to as the Communities of Action, they are managed as a single, integrated engagement platform, with participating stakeholders nominally associated with one or more Axis based on relevance, enabling targeted and fluid engagement with the relevant Axis Coordination Groups and Activation groups in a cross-collaborative manner.

Participation in the Communities of Action platform offers the following value to participants:

A direct entry point into the Global Climate Action Agenda, without needing to meet the more stringent Activation Group criteria;
Increased visibility for their work through spotlights, webinars, newsletters, and possible inclusion in case study collections;
Opportunities to learn and collaborate with leading initiatives, scaling innovations, and bridging local action with global action where relevant and of mutual interest;
Channel to elevate local realities, implementation challenges, and innovative models into axis-level planning.

The criteria for joining the Communities of Action of the Marrakech Partnership:

Ambition: Commitment to drive high ambition aligned with the Global Climate Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement to deliver a 1.5^oC net-zero, resilient and nature-positive and just world;
Impact-oriented: Commitment towards actions that are focused on concrete, real-world action delivering mitigation outcomes, increased resilience, reduced vulnerability and/or mobilizing finance;
Specificity: Taking action with clear, quantifiable outcomes aligned with Axis with defined targets and milestones that allow for assessing progress over time;

The MP Community of Action is open to government representatives, NGOs, partnerships, coalitions, initiatives, and networks engaged in climate action relevant to one or more Axis or Key Objectives.

Participation may include:

Initiatives that are not yet part of the Activation Groups, due to a different level of maturity or purpose;
Individual members of initiatives in the Activation Groups, if active and compliant with their commitments to said initiative;
Coalitions and organizations from under-represented regions, think tanks, academic and scientific institutions, and stakeholder membership organizations (such as business, finance, sub-national, Indigenous Peoples, youth and gender);
Parties or national government representatives

The secretariat is the primary entity responsible for accepting applications and conduct due diligence. Overall decision will also take into strong consideration regional representation and inclusion of representation for minorities.

Please submit your expression of interest to join the Communities of Action of the Marrakech Partnership to globalclimateaction@unfccc.int

In order to increase inclusivity and regional outreach, initiatives and coalitions working with people living in informality, women and youth groups, Indigenous Peoples organizations, and organizations headquartered in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean are warmly encouraged to submit an application to join the Communities of Action of the Marrakech Partnership.