At the World Urban Forum 13, IHS & UNEP launch white paper: Global Ambition, Local Action: Facilitating Local and Regional Governments’ Participation for More Effective and Inclusive Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
As the world confronts interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and pollution, growing empirical evidence indicates that current trajectories fall short on meeting globally agreed targets without coordinated, well‑resourced action at the subnational level. More than 70% of climate solutions fall under local and regional governments’ jurisdictions, and Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) are advancing ambitious mitigation, adaptation, and nature‑positive actions, with multiple co-benefits for health, resilience, and equity. Yet their role within most Multilateral Environmental Agreement implementation processes remains informal, selective, and insufficiently supported.
This white paper, commissioned by the UNEP Subnational Climate Action Unit, examines how LRGs have historically engaged in global environmental governance, with a specific focus on the Rio Conventions (UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD). It highlights key entry points through which they have influenced global agendas, identifies persistent structural and institutional barriers, and proposes actionable recommendations to enhance effective multi-level governance. Informed by a literature review and expert consultation process, the analysis reveals a maturing but uneven landscape of LRG involvement across conventions.
Coordinated and strategic multi-level action is key for more effective and inclusive outcomes in global environmental governance. This can be facilitated both through more structured and effective engagement of government actors from multiple scales in agenda-setting and policy-making, and through clearer pathways for implementation at the local and regional scales. Structural engagement of Local and Regional Governments in Multilateral Environmental Agreements is not simply beneficial, but is essential for delivering global environmental commitments.
