The CHAMP Opportunity: A Toolkit for Cities, Towns, States and Regions to Take Action on Climate Change

There is a short window of opportunity for subnational leaders to engage in public and private diplomacy with their national governments to ensure national climate plans are made more ambitious through the inclusion of subnational priorities. 

Suggested ways that mayors, governors and other subnational leaders can engage with their government:

• Identify departments in your city, town, state, or regional governments that engage with national governments on day-to-day basis. Check whether these departments have not been approached as part of the NDC Development process in the past or at present. 
• Advocate for the cities and subnational policy priorities to be included in discussions on national climate plans.
• Organise and engage with other subnational leaders to create or strengthen a national advocacy platform and network of cities and state/regional governments on the national climate plan. 
• Ask your local government association or representative body to organise dialogues to bring together different ministerial portfolios, subnational leaders, and technical experts to work together in the 2025 NDC revision process. Discuss how to use the NDCs as entry point to accelerate local climate action, while considering the local and regional contexts (national focal points to the UNFCCC can be consulted and contacted here).
• Create peer-to-peer learning opportunities across national, regional, and local governments – as well as academia, business, and civil society – to better understand good practices that are happening in cities and local governments around the world.