As the world focuses on climate change, with world leaders gathering in Egypt for COP27, we are delighted to circulate a paper that CLGF commissioned in advance of this event.

Entitled: Cities, Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Development: The Role of Local Governments in Commonwealth Small Island Developing States the paper focuses on the particular vulnerabilities of small island developing states in the Caribbean and across the Commonwealth, and the critical importance of involving and empowering local governments, especially in an urban context, in climate adaptation and mitigation.

It also explores how cities and local governments in Commonwealth SIDS can respond to difficult sustainable development issues, both individually and within their wider national governance frameworks. The author, Michelle Mycoo, is a Professor at the University of the West Indies, an Urban Planning Consultant, and  an expert in this field and will be playing an active role in the COP27 meeting.

LGMA pavilion 

CLGF is part of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments and will be supporting the work and advocacy of the Local Government and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) group at COP27. The LGMA has a pavilion at the event which anyone with an interest in climate change from the local perspective should visit.

The Commonwealth Secretariat also has a presence at COP27, hosting and participating in a series of events of relevance to local government as detailed on their website. 

Youth and climate

In partnership with other Commonwealth organisations, CLGF has been supporting the establishment of a youth network – the Commonwealth Youth for Sustainable Urbanisation (CYSU) – in bringing together a multi-disciplinary network of young mayors, local government officers, planners, architects, engineers and researchers and they will be in Egypt spearheading messages to advance the Call to Action on Sustainable Urbanisation and the role of youth Commonwealth Youth Network on Sustainable Cities (CYSU), in collaboration with our Commonwealth Sustainable Cities initiative (CSCI) partners. 

Some relevant events:

10 November 2022

• Youth for Sustainable Urbanisation: building capacity of youth towards SDG11, Venue: Blue Zone, SDG Pavilion , 14:00 – 15:00 GMT (Host: CYSU & CSCI)
• Utilising expertise of the youth to bridge the science-policy divide and improve access to finance; Venue: Blue Zone, Room Osiris, 16:30 – 18:30 GMT (Host: CYSU and CSET)
• Youth Climate Reporters: when media and climate converge; Venue: PCCB Capacity Building Hub (Host: CYSU & CSET Youth)
• How media can help youth to interact with Climate Change Issues, Venue: Children and Youth Pavilion

11 November 2022

• Transforming to Sustainable Cities with Youth, Venue: Children and Youth Pavilion, 08:00 – 08:55 GMT

Full schedule

View the schedule of events on the COP27 website.

Local government's message 

It is vital that a clear message is sent about the importance of ensuring that the commitments made at CHOGM are followed up, with local government being given a clear role in defining the issues and designing the solutions to address climate change, and with adequate funding being made available to the sphere of government closest to the people, and therefore communities, where the impact of climate change is so acutely felt.

Image courtesy of the Commonwealth Secretariat