Last week, Mayor Katja Dörner of ICLEI Member Bonn (Germany) hosted a number of political representatives, including from Scotland and Egypt, to discuss the path towards COP27, which will take place in November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheik (Egypt).

ICLEI has the honour of acting as the official focal point of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) constituency to the United Nations’ global climate negotiations. This means that ICLEI has a unique advocacy role at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP), and convenes the Multilevel Action Pavillion at these annual events. ICLEI is working hard to ensure that the path to COP27 is smooth, and sets the global community up for impactful and urgent action on climate change.

In her closing remarks, Mayor Dörner summarised some exciting announcements ahead of COP27:

“We are confirming that the Multilevel-Action-Pavillon in COP27 Blue Zone will again host our community and events in Sharm El-Sheikh, thanks to the continual and generous support of the Scottish Government…

We are excited to see that sustainable cities and urbanisation has been prioritised on the COP 27 agenda by the incoming Egyptian Presidency… The LGMA constituency and ICLEI will, among other partners, have an active role in this process. We are excited to see a first climate and urbanisation ministerial in the making for Sharm El-Sheikh, thanks to UN Habitat and Egypt.

I am [also] pleased to announce that Mayor Sharon Dijksma from [ICLEI Member] Utrecht has kindly accepted my invitation to act as ICLEI’s Special Envoy for Climate and Urbanisation to COP27, building on her experience as a Minister for Infrastructure and Environment.

As ICLEI Co-Chair, Climate Action I am committed to leading this process in the LGMA and the Global Task Force and also plan to bring in our positions [developed] in the context of the Urban 7 agenda during the German G7 Presidency. And – as said before – Daring Cities 2022 will be the place to consolidate all these efforts. So please save the dates: 3–7 October 2022.”

At ICLEI Europe, we congratulate Mayor Dijksma on her new role as ICLEI Special Envoy for Climate and Urbanisation to COP27, and look forward to leveraging multilevel action to secure a sustainable and healthy climate future for all.

To follow along with multilevel action in the lead-up to COP27, visit the LGMA website and attend monthly LGMA webinars.