Cities’ Role in Climate Governance and Global Policy: A Dispatch from the Urban20

As an acoustic cover of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” drifted over the Buenos Aires Convention Center’s speakers at the close of the inaugural Urban 20 (U20) Mayoral Summit, we were left pondering who were the champions— and of what?

In anticipation of the annual Group of 20 (G20) Summit in November 2018, the U20 brought together mayors, city officials, and municipal stakeholders to address critical issues affecting not only cities, but the world as a whole.  Climate change, at the forefront of the news and (some) international leaders’ priorities these days, was certainly on that list. Such discussions are no doubt a good first step, but how much do they affect real policy change or move the needle forward on mitigating climate change?

As evidenced at the inaugural U20, many cities (or their leaders) see themselves at the forefront of global policy engagement, particularly in the climate space. On some issues cities act as advocates— akin to NGOs— raising issues and keeping them visible within wider policymaking circles. In these cases, cities often act as “lobbyists,” prodding federal authorities to act—for example, by encouraging them to abide by their country’s Paris Agreement commitments. At other times, cities are direct policy-makers and implementers on issues within their respective jurisdictions that have global implications. For example, cities might devise building codes, impose transportation regulations, or implement local clean energy solutions. At the U20, cities were playing both roles at once—advocating to national leaders who would meet the following month in Buenos Aires, and sharing best practices and new municipal-level implementation ideas.

Cities have taken important steps to combat climate change through diplomacy (such as Chicago’s Climate Charter) and direct action (for example, New York City’s decision to align the Paris Climate Agreement). The U20 plays an important role in engaging cities on these issues and facilitating direct action and lateral collaboration among cities.  However, the U20 should also consider direct engagement with and distribution of the summit’s communiqué to other international organizations whose cooperation may advance the agenda, including the C40 Cities, World Bank, UNFCCC, and other UN bodies, as well as with local partners and municipal authorities positioned to implement change locally.

Beyond these discussions, direct local implementation of the urban agenda may be the fastest pathway to move policy forward, independently of national government action. This may be most effective within such policy areas as climate mitigation, adaptation, and urban sustainable development, by which cities will be disproportionately affected. What’s more, cities can have a major impact in these policy areas given their position as home to a majority of the world’s people and centers of economic activity (as well producers of CO2 emissions).

Although questions remain, cities are certain to continue competing and partnering with states and international organizations to shape global policy. Moving from competition to cooperation is another critical next step. Cities may have seen themselves as the champions at the close of the U20 Summit, but ultimately they need the tools for collaborative policy development and implementation if the global community is going to come out ahead on the issue of climate change. The Tokyo U20 Summit in September 2019 should provide the next data point in this unfolding story.

As we look forward to the Tokyo summit and beyond, we must continue to ask: when it comes to climate change, who were the champions—and of what? The answer is complex, but it is clear that any real solution must include cities—as advocates, policy makers, implementers, collaborators and—importantly—innovators.

Jocelyn Perry is the Global Shifts Program Manager at Perry World House. Bill Burke-White is Richard Perry Professor at Penn Law, Inaugural Director, Perry World House, and Penn IUR Faculty Fellow. Perry and Burke-White recently attended the Urban 20 Mayoral Summit in Buenos Aires to convene a roundtable on Cities and Global Governance. This group is at the forefront of a worldwide effort to elevate the role of cities in global governance, particularly with respect to climate change.