COP30 Local Leaders Forum: local action for global climate goals

At the international conference in Rio de Janeiro, the International Climate Initiative got actively engaged in current discussions on climate change and sustainable urban development.

Demonstrating how global climate action is advanced through local impact has been an integral part of the work of IKI’s sustainable urban development community. And cities are often the forerunners for climate action: Recent data from the C40 cities network shows that 73% of its member cities have passed their peak CO2 emissions and are reducing emissions faster than their national governments. 

The role of cities in tackling climate change

Several IKI projects that have a focus on the subnational and urban level therefore participated in this year’s “COP30 Local Leaders Forum”. In preparation for the subsequent COP30, the Brazilian COP Presidency and Bloomberg Philanthropies organized this event from November 3-5, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro. 

The three-day forum served as a framework for several city-related events, including the C40 World Mayors Summit. Around 100 cities from the “C40 cities network” were represented (e.g. Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris, Freetown, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tshwane, Jakarta, Melbourne, Bogotá, Lima), as well as numerous mayors organized in the “Global Covenant of Mayors”. The focus was placed on the political leadership role of cities in the fight against the climate crisis, past successes in urban climate action, and the announcement of ambitious future climate goals. 

As part of the Local Leaders Forum Joint Outcome Statement, the mayors representing 14,000 cities and municipalities expressed their willingness to contribute as active partners of national governments in the multi-level approach to achieving climate goals and to develop a pipeline of over 2,500 transformative, local projects.

On site in Rio de Janeiro: IKI projects provide ideas for urban climate action

Several projects from IKI’s urban community were actively engaged in the Rio events of the COP30 Local Leaders Forum, amongst others, with the following:

IKI project: Climate Adaptation in Cities: Water-Sensitive Urban Planning

This new IKI project was soft launched in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Cities and featured during the sessions “Urban Planning: The Key to Liveable Cities” and “Investors Roundtable – Unlocking Investment for Cities and Nature.” Participants included representatives from the Brazilian Ministry of Cities, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, UN-Habitat, as well as various mayors, international city leaders and experts. The project aims at significantly improving the capacity for water-related adaptation to climate change in seven metropolitan regions of Brazil, with a focus on vulnerable communities.

IKI project: Support to the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance II

Among other things, the project finances the secretariat of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA). The Head of the secretariat moderated a panel during the C40 World Mayors Summit parallel session on “Climate Finance: Unlocking Urban Investment”. The session brought together Mayors from across the globe to discuss what actions they are taking to finance urban climate action. CCFLA also participated in a roundtable on “Accelerating Solutions for Local Climate Action” at this pre-COP event hosted by Brazil’s Ministry of Cities. The meeting brought together government leaders, mayors, and global partners to showcase the “Plan to Accelerate Resilient Urban Infrastructure” under the COP30 Action Agenda. A policy paper on private capital mobilization was also launched.

IKI project: Support for the Brazilian National Agenda for Sustainable Urban Development (ANDUS)

The ANDUS project, e.g. participated in the Roundtable discussion “Accelerating Solutions for Local Climate Action” to speak about its experience with capacity development for the local level in Brazil and how to support cities in preparing local projects for climate action. At another event, the CCFLA “Pre-COP30 Roundtable: Coordinating Actions for Financing Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Areas in Brazil”, the ANDUS project coordinator moderated a first roundtable on “Presentations of Technical Resources on SBN Financing in Brazil”: During this session, two tools developed by the Ministry of Cities and UCCRN-LA, with support from ANDUS and UN-Habitat were presented: the “catalogue of urban climate initiatives” and the related platform of urban climate initiatives. 

The City Climate Finance Gap Fund (GAP Fund) 

The Gap Fund, which is also supported by the IKI, published the Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) Knowledge Trilogy: 

• Catalogue of NbS for Open Spaces: helps cities find the most appropriate nature-based solutions,
• NbS Methodology: a guide to assessing and quantifying ecological, economic, and social risks and benefits,
• Business Care Guidance: supports the implementation of river and park concepts in concrete, resilient urban spaces.

Also present were the two IKI projects ‘ACCESS: Accelerating access to low-carbon urban mobility solutions through digitalisation’ and ‘National Development Banks' Programme for Urban Climate Action (NUCA)’.

Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action (CHAMP)

Multi-Level Climate Action and the importance of improving the framework conditions at the national level for subnational climate action and climate finance were also emphasized at the Local Leaders Forum. The CHAMP Pledge (Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action) – to which several projects from IKI’s urban community are already contributing - was a key element in that context: Germany and Brazil announced their intention to co-chair the CHAMP initiative and the European Union (EU) announced its CHAMP membership.