A PLACE FOR SuBNAtIONAL GOVERNMENtS At thE INtERNAtIONAL CLIMAtE NEGOtIAtING tABLE

This policy briefing argues that subnational governments and cities are essential for implementing international climate agreements but are often excluded from the formal negotiating tables of the UNFCCC. It highlights the role of transnational actors like ICLEI in bridging this gap and recommends a shift toward 'co-production' between national and local governments to ensure climate targets are implementable at the local scale.

• Subnational governments and cities face significant barriers to participating in international climate negotiations, such as UNFCCC gatherings, despite being the primary entities responsible for implementing the outcomes of these negotiations.
• There is a mismatch between the 'top-down' institutional architecture of the UNFCCC, which is negotiated by and aimed at nation-states, and the local scale where climate interventions are actually executed.
• Rapid global urbanisation is increasing the geopolitical importance of cities. In 1990, urban dwellers made up 43% of the global population (2.3 billion people), rising to 54% (approximately 4 billion people) by 2015, with predictions that 70% (7 billion people) will live in urban areas by 2050.
• Subnational governments are often better suited for climate action due to their proximity to citizens, flexibility, and mandates aligned with service delivery and resilience building, yet they are hindered by restrictive national finance mechanisms and a lack of legal mandates.
• Transnational actors, including Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), United Cities for Local Government, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, act as intermediaries to represent subnational voices and overcome the scale mismatch in international policy.
• In Africa, there is a lack of cohesion regarding climate policy at the regional or continental level, though the Draft AU Climate Change Strategy and the FRACTAL project (covering eight cities in seven Southern African countries) seek to improve subnational decision-making and resilience.
• To improve climate policy implementation, the author recommends moving from a model of 'consultation' to 'co-production' between national and subnational governments, adopting fiscal measures for faster fund movement to local levels, and combining top-down and bottom-up approaches.

APA

Moore, L. (2016). A PLACE FOR SuBNAtIONAL GOVERNMENtS At thE INtERNAtIONAL CLIMAtE NEGOtIAtING tABLE. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Policy-Briefing-156.pdf

Chicago

Moore, Luke. A PLACE FOR SuBNAtIONAL GOVERNMENtS At thE INtERNAtIONAL CLIMAtE NEGOtIAtING tABLE. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2016. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Policy-Briefing-156.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Moore |first1=Luke |title=A PLACE FOR SuBNAtIONAL GOVERNMENtS At thE INtERNAtIONAL CLIMAtE NEGOtIAtING tABLE |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=November 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Policy-Briefing-156.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{moore2016place, author = {Moore, Luke}, title = {{A PLACE FOR SuBNAtIONAL GOVERNMENtS At thE INtERNAtIONAL CLIMAtE NEGOtIAtING tABLE}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Policy-Briefing-156.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }