Local Governments, Global Stocktake

This event at COP28 brought together local government representatives to discuss the extent to which they are prepared to take on the challenge of transformative adaptation and the support they need to make this happen.

Event description

What do local governments have to do with a Global Stocktake of progress on the Paris Agreement?

COP28 will conclude the first Global Stocktake of collective progress in implementing the Paris Agreement since its adoption in 2015.  It will result in a political outcome at COP28, summarizing key political messages, opportunities, good practices, and challenges to enhance climate action and support, to help governments prepare more ambitious national climate action plans, due in 2025.

The technical dialogue that took place in September 2023 as part of the Global Stocktake found that increased adaptation action and efforts to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage are urgently needed, particularly for those who are least prepared and least able to recover from disasters.

Most significantly, the technical dialogue highlights a key finding that “when adaptation is informed and driven by local contexts, populations and priorities, both the adequacy and the effectiveness of adaptation action and support are enhanced, and this can also promote transformational adaptation.”

The technical dialogue also notes that according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, success in making adaptation more transformational depends on the availability of appropriate enabling environments, including experiential and niche learning, alignment of transformational change objectives with strategic priorities of governments and non-Party stakeholders, strong bottom-up governance grounded in local contexts, phased long-term program support and appropriate financing.

Local governments clearly have a central role to play in transformational adaptation, by ensuring that:

• Adaptation is informed and driven by local contexts, populations and priorities
• Enabling environments are created for adaptation to be transformative and effective
• There is space for experiential and niche learning
• A common vision exists, that is shared by government and non-government stakeholders, and aligned with their strategic priorities
• Strong bottom-up governance is grounded in local contexts
• Phased long-term program support and appropriate financing is available

To what extent are local governments equipped to play this role?

What should be the role of local governments in future Global Stocktakes, in indicating their experiences, successes, gaps and challenges in enabling transformational adaptation?

This event will bring together local government representatives to discuss the extent to which they are prepared to take on the challenge of transformative adaptation, and the support they need to make this happen.