The Covenant Mayors Forum, on behalf of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy community in Latin America, releases its declaration today with key messages from Latin American cities addressed to decision-makers who will gather at the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP 27) in Sharm El Sheikh in November 2022.
Gathered in person in Buenos Aires in October 2022, for the first time after the pandemic, local leaders have identified two main priorities for Covenant municipalities in Latin America: strengthening the capacity to adapt to climate change and improving access to climate finance.
Read the full declaration:
Declaration of the Covenant Mayors Forum of the GCoM in Latin America before COP27
November 2022
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) is the largest global alliance of cities and local governments committed to combating climate change. In Latin America, it brings together over 500 municipalities taking action to mitigate the impact of climate change in their localities and adapt to the consequences already affecting their communities.
The Mayors Forum is a new governance body of the Covenant in Latin America. It brings together mayors from Covenant-signatory municipalities from 8 countries in the region who stand out for their work and commitment to climate change, representing the Covenant community in Latin America and acting as spokespeople at the national and international levels.
As we approach COP27, the Mayors Forum collects key messages from Latin American cities in this declaration for decision-makers meeting in Sharm El Sheikh from November 6 to 18, 2022.
We celebrate the ambition of the European Union reflected in the Green Deal and the EU Adaptation Strategy. The model proposed by the five EU Missions under the Horizon Europe program is a clear example of financial commitment, combining research and innovation to propose and design concrete solutions to climate change. We particularly highlight the Adaptation Mission, which aims to improve the adaptation capacity of 150 European cities and regions by 2030. These experiences can provide valuable knowledge and practices for the Latin American continent.
We positively welcome the priorities of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy’s global strategic plan that align with the needs in Latin America:
– In this recovery period after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the opportunity to rebuild and regenerate the economy in a cleaner, more resilient, sustainable, and just way for all citizens. For this, alliances between different levels of government are essential.
– Small and medium-sized municipalities are vital to enhance the impact of climate action globally. It is, therefore, necessary for the Covenant alliance to continue growing, adding more municipalities of various types, and developing support solutions that respond to their needs.
– It is necessary to identify and mobilize new resources and collaboration models that allow cities to access data, knowledge, and capital to implement their climate action plans through innovative solutions that inspire more local governments.
– The Covenant alliance has the potential to connect the political will of cities with the necessary investments and financial resources to drive ambitious and impactful local climate action.
We recognize the work carried out by city networks, especially the principles outlined in the Pact for the Future promoted by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG):
– Local and regional governments play a fundamental role as political actors whose main objective is to safeguard the dreams and aspirations of communities, balancing the needs of current generations with those of future generations.
– Equality and equity are indispensable pillars of any sustainable society and will support the need for a change in the relationship with nature, requiring renewed governance with trust as an essential mortar between actors.
We join the call to action by ICLEI, led by the Mayor of Utrecht, Sharon Dijksma, to make multilevel governance a reality during COP 27. The Glasgow Climate Pact, adopted at COP26, recognizes multilevel action as an integral part of the second phase of the Paris Agreement. Therefore, COP27 will be the first conference of this new era. We commit:
1.To promote the SURGe initiative (Sustainable Urban Resilience for the next Generation). This initiative, to be launched during COP27, seeks to accelerate local and urban climate action through a multilevel governance approach in five main areas: buildings and housing, urban energy, urban waste and consumption, urban mobility, and water/sanitation.
– To disseminate the first ministerial meeting on climate and urbanization in history, to be held on November 17, 2022, and encourage our ministries to join this process. Together, we can ensure that cities, urbanization, and multilevel action remain on the agenda of all future COPs.
Gathered in person in Buenos Aires in October 2022, for the first time after the pandemic, our local leaders have identified two main priorities for Covenant municipalities in Latin America: 1. Strengthening the capacity to adapt to climate change and 2. Improving access to climate finance. We present here our main requests and proposals.
Strengthening the capacity to adapt to climate change: In the last five years, our communities have been increasingly suffering the devastating effects of climate change, mainly manifested through heatwaves, fires, droughts, floods, and a water crisis that compromises access to water. In this situation, we consider it essential to:
– Strengthen knowledge and implementation capabilities of nature-based solutions at the local level, particularly focused on urban and rural biodiversity, green areas, and water resources.
– Invest in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, both public and private, in identified vulnerable and priority areas.
– Increase education, awareness, and outreach actions to achieve mobilization and citizen action in this effort.
Improving access to climate finance: Our municipalities are mobilizing to identify their needs and opportunities and incorporate them into local climate action plans. Without access to financing for the implementation of their projects, it is not possible to achieve the potential for local mitigation and adaptation. In this situation, we consider it essential to:
– Strengthen multilevel governance and streamline the use of national and transnational budgets, facilitating resource transfers to subnational governments and promoting more inter-institutional coordination.
– Promote and facilitate partnerships with the private sector as key investors in climate action.
– Prioritize funding for projects
that are part of longer-term climate action plans.
– Generate financing programs for smaller-scale municipalities with a local action plan.
– Provide training opportunities for the formulation of local climate action projects that meet the criteria of funders.
We aspire to continue adding more Latin American municipalities to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy alliance, encouraging them to develop and implement local plans and actions with a view to global goals.
Our municipalities and local governments are already acting despite the scarcity of resources and institutional barriers they face. Therefore, we urge COP27 decision-makers to drive multilevel action and allow local governments to contribute fully to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
By combining forces and competencies, we can respond to the climate emergency we face. Therefore, we hope that the COP27 negotiations will accelerate this process and favor strategic alliances.
From the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in Latin America, we are ready and willing to act.
Members of the Mayors Forum:
Carolina Basualdo, Mayor of Despeñaderos, Argentina
Nicolás Cuesta, Mayor of San Justo, Argentina
Márcia Conrado, Mayor of Serra Talhada, Brazil
Ana Matos, Vice-Mayor of Salvador, Brazil
Carolina Leitao, Mayor of Peñalolén, Chile
Gonzalo Durán, Mayor of Independencia, Chile
Alvaro Henry Barrera Díaz, Mayor of Tópaga, Colombia
Viviana Carpio, Vice-Mayor of Oreamuno, Costa Rica
Lucía Sosa Robinzon, Mayor of Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Javier Altamirano Sánchez, Mayor of Ambato, Ecuador
Raúl Díaz Pérez, Mayor of Comas, Peru
Gerardo Octavio Vargas Landeros, Municipal President of Ahome, Mexico
