Join us: Messages from African Mayors for COP26

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan African would like to invite you to join our hybrid session at COP26 on 4 November 2021 in the Multi-Level Action Pavilion. The event will be streamed in English, French and Portuguese. This session will provide an opportunity for African Mayors to engage in discussion with high-level climate representatives from the United Nations, the European Commission, and other key stakeholders around the expected outcomes of the negotiations at COP26 and the implications for local governments. Register here to join virtually. 

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), countries will launch an adaptation goal and a strategy to achieve it – which presents an opportunity to recognise and address the unique needs of African cities. There is a need for developed countries to mobilise and provide climate finance resources for environmentally sound technologies appropriate for the African context. A focus point for Africa will be the need to protect its ecosystems and livelihoods, building adaptive capacity and resilience, as well as exploring mitigation benefits. There is a hope that Nature-based Solutions (NbS) will be at the forefront in the proposed implementation strategies.

“Located on the banks of the Niger River, Bamako includes 510 hectares of flood-prone land and more than 2,000,000 vulnerable inhabitants. In order to preserve from even more harmful effects of climate change by 2030-2050, our priority is ADAPTATION for a better resilience of the populations.”

-    Mayor of Bamako, Mr Adama Sangaré

Africa contributes only 4 percent of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but it is the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and needs immediate support. Furthermore, Africa is expected to have the fastest urban growth rate in the world by 2050. African cities need to be at the forefront of adaptation and resilience conversations. Adaptation projects, building climate resilient infrastructure and enhancing access to clean energy are essential for African cities to prevent further loss of livelihoods due to extreme climate events like cyclones, droughts and flooding.

A space for African leaders to have their voices heard

The CoM SSA session at COP26 will provide the opportunity for African Mayors to engage with high-level climate representatives from the UN, the European Commission, and other key stakeholders around the expected outcomes of the negotiations at COP26 and the implications for cities in Africa.

The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency (LGMA) has called for COP26 to show that multilevel and collaborative actions are necessary. The more institutions, organisations and governments that work together, the more we can seek support for actions, including finance, investment, capacity building, research and innovation.

During the session, local government leaders will have the chance to share their perspectives, elaborate on actions they are taking on the ground, as well as outcomes from both CoM SSA Day at the Climate Chance Summit and Africa Climate Week, which took place earlier in September 2021.

 They will be given the opportunity to speak on their expectations in relation to Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plans (SEACAPs) and related climate action plans and how these contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement. Leaders will share how they envision unlocking climate finance for sustainable infrastructure, climate change adaptation, energy access, NbS and further supporting the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

This session is organised by CoM SSA, the regional arm of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) which is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership across the globe.

Expected outcomes:

• Feeding into the negotiations;
• Hearing the local perspective from Mayors;
• Highlighting the importance of joint efforts and multilevel governance in achieving climate action goals, which will allow all levels of government to rapidly and boldly advance climate action;
• Emphasising the need to align SEACAPs with countries’ National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and NDCs;
• Hearing the negotiators’ expectations for COP26, and;
• Hearing from the LGMA on their COP26 expectations.

REGISTER HERE TO JOIN ONLINE: [The session will be livestreamed via the HopIn platform. Further details will be available once you have registered.]

African voices at COP26

It is foreseen that several African leaders may not be able to attend COP26 in-person due to travel constraints brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Through this session and CoM SSA digital platforms, we aim to ensure that the needs of African leaders are brought to the fore at COP26.

“Climate change has become an urgent matter for our African cities, it is no longer a distant future issue, but a certain reality. The population of Kloto is already experiencing its effects and it is now time to act. We are fighting every day to adapt ourselves, through a more sustainable local planning and with concrete actions. On the occasion of the COP 26, we must find together sustainable and systemic solutions to support our local initiatives.”

-        Mayor of Kloto 1 (Togo), Mr Yawo Winny DOGBATSE

The focus on African cities is especially important as these messages will be carried forward to COP27, which will be hosted in 2022 in Africa.