Publication: Entry Points to Support Collaborative Climate Action

17/05/2019

The IPCC special report on global warming of 1.5°C reaffirms the urgency of the Paris Agreement. To avoid dangerous consequences, global greenhouse gas emissions must reach net-zero by 2050. While the international UNFCCC climate regime has managed to orchestrate national climate commitments, current national mitigation targets fall well short of achieving the low-carbon transformation.

Strengthening climate collaboration between multiple levels of government (vertical integration) and between sectors at the same governing level (horizontal alignment) is necessary to improve coherence and complementarity of climate policy and implementation. Collaborative climate action is fundamental to the transformative shifts needed to achieve the Paris Agreement’s ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Drawing on practitioner insights and research conducted for the V-LED project, funded by the International Climate Initiative of the German Ministry of the Environment, a range of entry points are presented to support the collaborative design and implementation of ambitious climate actions. These entry points are grouped according to three priority areas for effective multilevel governance: Empower, Align and Equip.

1. Involve subnational actors in national policy making processes to ensure buy-in, take account of existing actions and raise ambition.
2. Provide clear mandates and appropriate implementing authority to subnational governments.
3 Provide mandates and resources to coordinating entities to facilitate collaboration across sectors and levels.

4. Ensure access to finance for subnational implementation
5. Strengthen local horizontal peer-to-peer learning and good practice exchange
6. Support local networks of engaged citizens to hold governments accountable, and increase their motivation to act

7. Align climate response with development planning and budgeting at the subnational level
8. Strengthen dialogical approaches to collaborative climate action
9. Consider subnational regional governments as key actors to enable local climate action

Coordinating ambitious climate targets across government agencies and engaging subnational actors as key implementers and decision makers can unlock potential and drive transformation. For greater detail about each of the entry points above, download the full synthesis report.

To learn more about multi-level governance in Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines and Vietnam, read the V-LED country studies, available here.

News

Publication: Launch of Kenyan and Philippine “Real Practice” Study on Collaborative Climate Action

15/10/2020
Kenya’s County Climate Change Funds are an innovative governance mechanism that aims to channel climate finance to the local level and increase public participation. Ormoc City in the Philippines is leveraging climate finance by building strong partnerships. The Kenya and the Philippine Real Practice Studies are the first two in a series of four studies that provide practical knowledge about multi-level climate governance and collaborative action.
Event: V-LED hosts “Global Recovery: An Imperative for Multi-Level Governance” at the ICLEI conference Daring Cities, online 19 October @ 10:00 - 11:30 UTC+2

13/10/2020
As the urgent response to COVID-19 is unfolding and climate impacts continue to affect cities and counties, local institutions will need to build a resilient future responding to both these challenges. Participants learn directly from local and national policymakers and their allies about common obstacles and success strategies for implementing local climate projects and access finance.