The Permanent Forum of National Coordinators and Presidents of the National Consultative Committees of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean was created to provide these actors with a permanent virtual space for exchange and institutional strengthening to foster the program. “The space was created because we realized that, although each country had its specific context, the difficulties they were going through were similar. At the same time we have activities being implemented at different rates in each country. This exchange is very rich and improves learning ”, explains Marja Edelman, Coordinator of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean
At each monthly session, the meeting will be conducted by members of national coordinations or presidencies of advisory committees, so that experiences can be shared in an open dialogue space between participants. The deputy director of the Regional Team of Foreign Policy Instruments for the Americas of the European Union Delegation, Lise Pate, opened the session and praised the work of the national coordinators. “You took ownership of the Pact, sharing good practices, adapted to the context of each country,” she said.
The Argentine Network of Municipalities facing Climate Change (RAMCC) inaugurated the series of meetings, represented by the specialist in climate action plan Valentina de Marco. Since 2017 as one of the national coordinators of the Pact in Argentina, the organization currently serves 214 municipalities, representing 26% of the country’s population. Of this total, 112 cities in the network are signatories to the GCoM LAC.
According to Valentina, RAMCC’s work involves citizen participation, greater efficiency in the use of resources, decentralization of power and decision-making, reduction of inequalities and adherence to international commitments that may have local impacts, such as the GCoM-LAC, for example . “There is no methodology to achieve the commitment and participation of local governments, but a dynamic process that seeks to continually develop tools for training, exchanging and implementing climate actions to maintain the motivation and interest of the municipalities,” she explained.
Among the tools that make RAMCC’s performance so efficient, according to Valentina de Marco, are shared governance, risk calculations, goals to reduce GHG emissions, review and update targets, ongoing training, implementation of climate actions and dissemination of information. And even in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, RAMCC continues to hold its weekly internal planning meetings, now virtual, in addition to exchanges with municipal technical teams and online training programs.
Global network, local actions
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy has more than 10,000 local governments signatory in 135 countries, representing more than 800 million people or almost 10% of the world population. In the Latin America and Caribbean region, more than 400 cities are part of the initiative. The implementation of the Covenant in the region is supported by the International Program for Urban Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC), financed by the European Union. The next coordinators’ meeting will be conducted by the Foro Ciudades para la Vida, from Peru.