Mark Kenber, CEO, the Climate Group, moderated the session. COP 19 President Marcin Korolec, Poland, stated that climate policy should be about action, emphasizing the need to create a platform to exchange best practice about cities.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized the “shared responsibility” of the climate crisis and the need to turn crisis into opportunity, highlighting that the local level is where policies are implemented.

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Mayor, Warsaw, Poland, underscored the “voice of the cities.” Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, recognized delegates’ disappointment with the most recent version of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) text, which reduced emphasis on subnational actors, stressing that the ocean current is moving in the right direction, even if the waves are not.

Kenber introduced the first interactive discussion on enhancing adaptation and resilience at the local level. Paul Oquist Kelley, Minister and Private Secretary for National Policies, Nicaragua, stressed that for every dollar not invested in mitigation, more will be needed for adaptation.

Acknowledging the low-lying nature of the Netherlands, Wilma Mansveld, Minister of Environment, the Netherlands, noted that national governments should support local governments, for example by removing regulatory barriers.

Tony De Brum, Minister in Assistance to the President, Marshall Islands, pointed to solar energy investments and testing ocean thermal energy conversion technologies. Tunc Soyer, Mayor, Seferihisar, Turkey, underscored the need to “maintain sensitivity at the local level,” noting that without citizen support, efforts will not be successful.

Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, Governor, Delta State, Nigeria, highlighted last year’s flooding, wherein 40% of Delta State was submerged, leading to mass displacement. George Heartwell, Mayor, Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, suggested that every city should produce strategic plans containing practical climate change adaptation measures and an emergency preparedness plan.

Gustavo Petro, Mayor, Bogotá, Colombia, highlighted social inequality challenges in Latin American cities, which will be further challenged by climate change impacts. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Deputy Executive Director, UN-HABITAT, identified several UN-HABITAT supported programmes, including the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and the Cities and Climate Change Initiative (CCCI).

Rachel Kyte, World Bank, stressed the need to put the tools to address climate change in the hands of subnational leaders, including finance, basic regulations and national support frameworks.

Kenber introduced the next panel on enhancing global mitigation efforts through action at the local level.

Pascal Canfin, Minister for Development, France, cautioned that if cities and local authorities are not on board, no agreement will be possible in Paris in 2015. Seongkyu Yoon, Minister of Environment, Republic of Korea, highlighted the role of dialogue as a catalyst to build stronger partnership, and pointed to the need for international information clearing houses.

Highlighting that local governments are the closest level to citizens, Geraldo Julio, Mayor of Recife, Brazil, emphasized strengthening contacts with local people.

Tang Jie, Deputy Mayor, Shenzhen, China, highlighted Shenzhen’s rapid economic and population growth, requiring: urban planning; public transport; and energy efficiency.

Penny Ballem, Vancouver, Canada, stressed that mitigation needs longer-term plans protected from the “polarized swing of politics.” Gronkiewicz-Waltz acknowledged EU support for the upgrading of Warsaw’s public transport system, as well as efforts to address wastewater treatment and waste-to-energy technology.

Noting that 50% of people live in cities, Ronan Dantec, Councilor, Nantes, France, voiced that local authorities have the greatest space to make mitigation changes, pointing to the Nantes Declaration. Ephraim Kamuntu, Minister of Water and Enviornment, Uganda, acknowledged Uganda’s rapid transition and related urbanization, stressing learning from other global cities which link urban planning, social equity and green environments.

Heinz Leuenberger, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), stressed cities are important to UNIDO because: most companies are located in urban areas; companies can provide services to cities including public transport and wastewater treatment; and contaminated industrial sites need to be improved. Dominika Kulczyk-Lubomirska, Vice-President, Green Cross Poland, introduced three programmes: the Green Cities Programme; the Green Economy; and a Green App for smart phones.

Offering closing remarks, David Cadman, President, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), emphasized the need for national parties to work with national, subnational and private actors to address climate change, “profoundly urging” the Polish presidency to reintroduce text within the ADP to raise the profile of local and subnational climate actors and actions.

This side event, moderated by Renate Christ, Secretary, IPCC, focused on key findings of the AR5 “Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis,” as well as ways key user communities can use the report to facilitate decision-making. Christ introduced the IPCC and its work, underscoring the need for interaction with the report’s users.

Gian-Kasper Plattner, WGI Technical Support Unit (TSU), provided highlights of the report, a cumulative effort of 259 authors from 39 countries. He stressed that: warming of the climate system is unequivocal as each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850; it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century; and limiting climate change will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Addressing report findings at the regional level, Matthew Collins, WGI Coordinating Lead Author, University of Exeter, UK, underlined that although a thorough assessment of global mean changes in temperature is possible because of multiple lines of evidence, fewer studies are available for assessment of temperature and precipitation at large regional scales. He said that the Annex I Atlas provides basic information about regional changes, stressing that it is a climate model output and not an assessment of the likelihood of changes.

Emma Lindberg, Ministry of Environment, Sweden, talked about the usefulness of the IPCC report to society underscoring the need to engage key actors in taking climate action and support policymakers’ initiatives to deal with the challenge.

Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, Director, EU Corporate Leaders Group, provided business perspectives, focusing on the ways business and policymakers can best communicate climate science including the need to tailor the IPCC Report to local and regional settings. She presented recommendations for the future and identified communication challenges, including the need for paradigm and system shifts, while recognizing that policy was slowed by lobbying interests and disinterest from citizens.

Enrique Maurtua Konstantinidis, Climate Action Network (CAN) Latin America, introduced CAN and focused on its international and regional actions to: spread the science message through CAN’s members across the world; promote climate action in the regions based on Regional Node’s Capacities; and raise public awareness.

During discussion, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Vice-Chair, IPCC, joined the panel and participants posed questions inter alia on: related work for higher altitudes; whether the 2°C target is feasible and safe; educational systems and consumption patterns; and the way to address corporations.

Zitouni Ould-Dada, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), announced that the CTCN is officially “open for business,” encouraging nominations of Nationally Designated Entities (NDEs) and submission of proposals to receive support for the development and deployment of technology.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP, said the operationalization of the CTCN is proof of the COP’s ability to make decisions with consequences. He congratulated the strong consortium of partners, explaining that success of the CTCN depends on the nominations for NDEs and engagement.

Richard Kinley, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNFCCC Secretariat, reflected that the CTCN is a “landmark achievement,” marking the successful completion of the design phase. He announced that the CTCN is ready to respond to requests to create low-carbon pathways.

Franz Perrez, Ambassador for the Environment, Switzerland, expressed hope that National Cleaner Productions Centres will join the network to reduce mitigation by 2020.

Griffin Thompson, Chair, CTCN Advisory Board, US, reported that the CTCN is “focusing on projects, not paragraphs, generating watts, not words, and represents where ambitions meets adaptation.” He clarified that the CTCN will respond to requests from developing countries.

Harry Kalaba, Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Zambia, shared that the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) created a prioritized list for submission to the CTCN. With consideration for a NDE underway, he reported on a national fund to provide cross-sectoral support.

Mary Ann Lucille Sering, the Philippines, highlighted that the CTCN can help avoid the poverty trap. She said that although weather events have challenged her country, they are not defeated, seeing clean technology as an opportunity to rebuild.

Ousmane Fall Sarr, Chair, Senegalese National Committee on Climate Change (COMNACC), welcomed the establishment of the CTCN to support efforts to respond to global challenges, especially for the more vulnerable countries.

Daniel Buira, Director General, Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), Mexico, described the CTCN as a “globally transformational” tool, in part as a portal for a broader network sharing domestic innovations to generate partnerships.

Rezaul Karim, Bangladesh, agreed that the TNA has made a clear conceptual pathway that the CTCN will help to actualize. He pointed to the need for Bangladesh to focus on adaptation to reduce poverty and increase energy, water and food security.

CTCN Interim Director Mark Radka, UNEP, characterized the network as a spirited youthful nucleus where enthusiasm is coupled with pragmatic guidance, underscoring the need for draft decisions to continue their evolution.

Fred Onduri, Vice-Chair, CTCN Advisory Board, Uganda, said he was impressed by developing countries who have integrated TNAs to quantify and monetize technology needs either within a national budget or to help lobby for bilateral support.

Moderator Jiansheng Zhang, CAST, introduced their association, saying they encourage and promote Chinese scientists to the international arena through exchanges.

Qian Ye, Beijing Normal University, China, summarized that extremes will become the new norm, underscoring that risk must be incorporated into the sustainable development process, including through: international and domestic policies; new development models and infrastructure; increased understanding of risks; and the social dimension of technological change.

Hongxia Duan, Xiameng University, China, discussed China’s green development, presenting options for the West and East of China to transition. In the West, she highlighted: poverty reduction; investment in ecological services and environmental protection; and programmes for capacity building. In the East, she proposed to: learn lessons from the past GDP-driven models; improve social justice; and achieve emission reductions.

Jiansheng Qu, China Academy of Sciences, discussed opportunities for green development, noting it poses both challenges and risks. He reflected on the IPCC AR-5, highlighting new understandings of surface temperature and CO2 concentrations. He addressed mitigation and adaptation actions saying fundamental changes are required, such as through research and development, noting a gap between research and development (R&D) and what is required.

Puja Sawhney, Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES), discussed the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) and its role in climate change adaptation in the region. She noted the particular vulnerability of the Asia Pacific region to climate change due to high population growth, extreme poverty and a lack of knowledge. She highlighted the aim and scope of the International Conference on Loss and Damage, saying the meeting noted the need for knowledge and data sharing, as well as cooperation with other knowledge and data sharing networks.

Dongdong Xie, Shanghai Pudong Academy of Reform and Development Research, China, addressed green industrial development and the role of government, examining the case of the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry in China. He outlined the boom and bust cycle solar companies have faced, noting many are now bankrupt, and said that the institutional environment could be critical in preventing such problems.

Referring to cities as a platform for ambitious climate action, Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI, highlighted that before COP 15 in Copenhagen, some 3,500 cities agreed to targets more ambitious than the Kyoto Protocol commitments. He pointed to the first Cities Day, held in cooperation with UNFCCC and the Polish COP Presidency, yet raised concerns that the ADP text referring to subnational actors has been “watered down.”

Ronan Dantec, Councilor, Nantes, France, pointed to city networks and horizontal learning amongst cities across national borders, stressing the link between sustainable development and climate change, specifically the influence of the post-2015 development agenda process on COP 21 in Paris in 2015.

David Cadman, President, ICLEI, acknowledged that while climate change has fallen off the priority for national governments, at the local level it is still actively addressed. He referred to ICLEI’s work with UN Major Groups, stressing doubling efforts to make Paris the “largest success we can make it.”

Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, the GEF Secretariat, indicated the GEF’s desire to work with cities. Identifying major trends including an increasing population, rising middle class and urbanization, she highlighted that cities are quicker to act and learn from each other to achieve meaningful results.

Karin Kemper, World Bank, introduced the Low-Carbon, Livable Cities Initiative, highlighting there are many reasons for the World Bank to be interested in cities, including rapid urban migration rates, slum growth and credit worthiness improvements.

Jorge Wolpert, National Housing Commission, Mexico, presented Mexico’s climate change legislation. He stressed the need for national government representatives to work alongside local authorities and referred to the development of a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) for housing and a NAMA for urban areas.

Mercedes Bresso, First-Vice President, EU Committee of Regions (CoR), stated that within the EU the dialogue between subnational, national and EU government levels is strong. She urged the EU to place a stronger role on local authorities’ inclusion within future COP discussions.

Frank Cownie, Mayor, Des Moines, Iowa, US, underscored that mayors will remain present at the COP, to protect their citizens, to acknowledge the need for capacity building, dialogue, financing and push for intergenerational equity.

RA Rajeev, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Government of Maharashtra, India, spoke of ongoing efforts to improve renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as engagement with the joint ICLEI and UN-HABITAT Urban Low Emission Development Strategies (Urban-LEDS) programme.

Gustavo Petro, Mayor, Bogotá, Colombia, highlighted ongoing efforts to address mitigation, adaptation and behaviour change, including inter alia: an emphasis on public transport; inclusion of cycling infrastructure; relocation of local communities from vulnerable areas; and waste management and recycling programmes.

Cownie closed by quoting Bob Dylan, “Let us not speak falsely now, the hour is getting late.”

Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), US, welcomed the opportunity for local communities to contribute to national and international solutions, particularly in light of the expected increase in frequency and severity of climate change impacts. She outlined US initiatives such as the US Climate Action Plan and the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, to build safe and strong infrastructures.

Sharing that California is on track to meet targets for 2020, Mike McCormick, California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), US, reviewed tools to support implementation, such as the Adaptation Planning Guide for Local Governments. On the relationship between different levels of government, he explained that it is not possible to reach goals without regional and local partners.

Franklin Cownie, Mayor, Des Moines, Iowa, US, said that the current US administration has provided more opportunities for local governments to create green infrastructure and exchange.

George Heartwell, Mayor, Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, commented on the “intricate dance” between local and national governments, saying that even in the absence of nationally policies, impacts of climate change must be addressed on the local level. Professing that this is his first COP, he expressed optimism that cities have a voice at the table in find ways to link international agreements and national policies with on the ground actions.

Brian Holland, ICLEI USA, outlined the ICLEI network to link and share tools with over 1000 dedicated cities to climate action, resilience and sustainable development. He explained that cities are essential to help solve the climate problem, because they are where implementation happens.

During discussions, panelists counted communication and education of innovation and cost-savings as key to maintaining progress on sustainability initiatives. On the overload of information available, Holland suggested endorsing existing portals and Heartwell recommended finding low-hanging fruits, celebrating them and moving on. Panelists agreed on promoting exchanges among youth, domestically and internationally.

This side event, moderated by Karin Lexén, Chair, SIWI, provided an informal platform to explore how increased coherence on adaptation can be achieved and how cooperation between Parties and stakeholders can be strengthened to support enhanced action on adaptation at all levels.

Wilma Mansveld, Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands, stressed that water management constitutes a cross-cutting issue and the most crucial challenge in adaptation. She noted that case studies reflect how adaptation measures taken at local level relate to the global level.

Shyla Raghav, Conservation International (CI), said National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) allow countries to share lessons, as well as technical information and guidance. She underscored the challenge of integrating emerging issues and linking adaptation and development at a broader scale.

Kathleen Dominique, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), addressed knowledge production and dissemination, pointing to human resources on the ground that can support activities under the UNFCCC.

Thinley Namgyel, Climate Change Division, Bhutan, addressed the historic path since COP 7 that led to NAPs, stressing they constitute a catalyst to support bringing together all relevant stakeholders.

Drawing from the Colombian experience, Pablo Vieira, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia, presented three adaptation projects, namely the Integrated National Adaptation Plan (INAP), a regional comprehensive plan on climate change (PRICC) and INAP 2, underlying that the pathway to go beyond mitigation goes through NAPs.

Than Thuc, Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment, Viet Nam, addressed inter alia: National Target Programs to Respond to Climate Change (NTP-RCC); the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); REDD+ programmes; a green growth strategy; NAMAs; and the NAP in Viet Nam.

Following the presentation of the case studies, Rodrigo Suárez, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia, Christoph Feldkötter, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Germany, Shereen D’Souza, Department of State, US, and Kyekyeku Yaw Oppong-Boadi, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana, formed a panel that addressed questions on the links between adaptation and mitigation, the contribution of the private sector and the role of local communities.

Suárez stressed the importance of indigenous knowledge, calling for a bottom-up approach, while Feldkötter underlined that NAPs are a good way to bring all stakeholders together and identify entry points in the system. D’Souza underscored the need for a constant dialogue to ensure that the reality of practitioners are reflected in the policies and Oppong-Boadi reflected on knowledge transformation, stressing that mitigation actions may lower adaptation costs. Sonja Koeppel, UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), summarized the discussion.