*Kindly note that this agenda is subject to change. To confirm the program schedule please regularly check the 2nd Capacity-building Hub webpage or email us.
Stay Tuned - 2nd Capacity-building Hub in the media
The theme of COP25 is ‘Time for action’, reflecting the significant advance made by countries – to reach a global agreement on climate change, to define key rules and procedures of implementation, and to make commitments under the agreement.
In a world where more than 55% of the global population already live in cities, commitments to achieve resilience and sustainable development, to adapt to climate change are crucially dependent on how we plan, build and manage cities.
Cities can adopt agile measures and provide rapid responses to climate challenges. Though such actions develop on a local scale, they can have a significant cumulative impact regionally and globally. In this context, it is important to ensure coordinated action and cooperation.
Programme Overview
Hosted by Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB), the Local Governments and Cities Day of the 2nd Capacity-building Hub was led by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and ICLEI, echoing the overall theme of the COP25: time for action.
The day fostered collaboration between actors at all levels (local, national, regional and global), responding directly to the mission of the PCCB to strengthen networks and partnerships to enhance synergies and promote knowledge- and experience-sharing.
Under the overarching notion of ‘enabling local action’, different modalities and sessions in this thematic day were designed to boost capacities of individuals, institutions, and cities to take action.
The Local Governments and Cities Day in the 2nd Capacity-building Hub is designed to, among other topics, touch upon:
Cities and Climate Change; Empowering individuals and organizations
City-level capacity-building for climate action
City-level capacity-building cooperation
City-level capacity-building for resilience
Youth capacity-building in urban contexts
All interested individuals and organizations were welcome to join the debate and contribute to the discussion!
Objectives
The Local Government and Cities Day aimed at providing an overview of important capacity-building activities undertaken at subnational, local and cities level. It highlighted the importance of cities in leading the process of transformation and adaption to climate change emphasizing the role of individuals and communities by changing the way people work, commute and rest. Some of the key objectives of the sessions were:
To demonstrate the best examples of actions successfully implemented, describing obstacles and how to overcome them.
To showcase examples of cooperation between local governments and cities in developed and developing countries
Cities are drivers of a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the home to large populations affected by climate change. The Local Governments and Cities Day in the 2nd Capacity-building Hub was focused on local action to boost the capacities of cities to mitigate their carbon footprint, and adapt to a changing climate.
National and local government representatives, city officials, project preparation practitioners, urban planners, climate and sustainable finance practitioners, urban policy makers, NGOs, and CSOs.
Hosted by the PCCB, and led by the UN-Habitat and ICLEI, the 2nd Capacity-building Hub Local Governments and Cities Day provided a platform for different stakeholders to share knowledge and exchange experiences through interactive panel discussions and forums, designed to:
Enable participants to share and exchange specific data, lessons learned, knowledge, tools and methodologies, and case studies related to capacity-building for climate action in cities.
Discuss challenges and opportunities for building city-level capacities for resiliency transition, and explore ways to implement them in the medium and long terms.
Explore innovative partnerships, co-creation processes, and capacity building strategies, into city-level planning and development
Discuss the interlinkages of capacity-building for climate change mitigation and adaptation, with achieving sustainable development goals by local governments and cities