November 17-22, 2024 | UCLG ASPAC actively played its strategic role in the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, organised by the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) and hosted by Azerbaijan Government.
UCLG ASPAC, represented by Secretary General Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, was appointed to act as an expert and facilitator at the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) special session “A Call to Deliver Efficient Loss and Damage Responses at the Local and Regional Level.” The LGMA coordinates climate negotiation inputs, advocates for diverse stakeholder representation, collaborates with COP presidencies, and promotes the UNFCCC Multilevel Action, ensuring the involvement of local and subnational governments.
Dr. Bernadia moderated the discussion and explored pathways for effective loss and damage response delivery at the local level, focusing on subsidiarity, governance, and funding accessibility, involving political representatives from different region: Mr. Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen, Morocco, and President of UCLG’s World Forum of Intermediary Cities; Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo, Kenya, Council of Governors; Ms. Niina Ratilainen, City of Turku, Member of the European Committee of the Regions; Mr. Mohamed Basheer, President of Noonu Atoll Council, Maldives.
Several key actions highlighted:
- Loss and Damage Response must be seen and addressed the inclusivity that really targeted the most vulnerable community.
- To deliver it, we must have a legal framework, and it should be done at both national and local levels and create a conducive enabling environment for Loss and Damage.
- Understanding the Risk is very important, and it is a key for local governments to understand the calculation or cost to restore the disaster.
- Enhance the access of climate information and Early Warning System (EWS).
- City-to-city cooperation can leverage the response and engagement with private sector.
UCLG, on behalf of the LGMA Constituency and the Global Taskforce for Local and Regional Governments, released a powerful call to action, urging all levels of governance to step up in addressing the severe impacts of climate change. The call to deliver has already been endorsed by many LGMA partners including ICLEI, Regions4, Under2 Coalition, Metropolis and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). CLICK HERE to join the call.
Exploring Local Links between Loss and Damage, Informality, and Displacement in Vulnerable Communities
Dr. Bernadia Tjandradewi was also invited as the panellist in a side event Exploring Local Links between Loss and Damage, Informality, and Displacement in Vulnerable Communities, a collaboration between UCLG and Habitat for Humanity International.
The forum raised awareness of the intersection between informality, climate displacement, and loss and damage, and underscored the need to learn from local communities themselves when devising partnerships to address the specific vulnerabilities of informal settlements. Dr. Bernadia highlighted Asia-Pacific’s vulnerability to climate change impacts, including annual typhoons and extreme heat. She called for strengthening institutional capacity, improving accessible finance, enhancing technical knowledge with grassroots data, and addressing governance gaps to empower local governments in decision-making and resilience-building processes.
The session concluded with key points including:
- The need to translate grassroots data into formal policy and to redesign financial flows to ensure accessible, equitable capital.
- The importance of a human-centred design approach that prioritises practical solutions informed by what communities identify as effective.
- The potential of grassroots involvement and the “invisible billion” as key resources for reshaping municipal and global policy-making processes, including within frameworks such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
- The invisibility of informal settlements in data and research, noting the IPCC’s recognition of this gap.
Local Action on Urban Climate Migration: From Challenges to Opportunities
UCLG ASPAC also supported UCLG and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) co-hosting a special dialogue at the IOM Pavilion to explore how cities are managing these issues and what we can do to support them in transforming challenges into opportunities.” Key presentation was delivered by Ms. Claudia Huerta, Senior Manager, C40 sharing the context and data on climate migration, especially the impact on urban areas and the intersection with climate resilience. She mentioned that we need to underline the urgency of issue of climate migration and specifically its urban dimension, most of data is not only at national level but also, we need data at the local level. Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, Secretary General of UCLG ASPAC, led knowledge sharing from city leaders on their experiences with climate migration, their responses, and potential opportunities.
- Mrs. Laigane Talia – Attorney General of Tuvalu shared her perspective about being forced to migrate because of climate change: “We have no specific law to address climate migration, but we must work on it, we need to look positive opportunities on migration.”
- Mr. Samuel Oe-Amseb, Mayor of Outjo, President of the Local Authorities Association of Namibia (ALAN) mentioned that migration is a top concern for African nations and LRGs, people of rural areas are affected by the absence of rain, and we cannot feed our people.
- Ms. María del Pilar Bueno Rubial – Undersecretary of Climate Change and Just Ecological Transition, City of Rosario, Argentina addressed the strong participatory based climate policy in our local government: our roots are immigrants from our grand-parents, our identity is linked to migration.
In the conclusion of discussion, all panellists agreed that climate migration is complex, however, it can also create new opportunities. For migration to be a positive force, cities need more support, clear policies, and coordinated action across global, national, and local levels. This sharing session was full of inspiring initiatives and thus strengthened partnerships, helping cities to get prepared not only to face climate migration but to use it as a path towards greater resilience and equity.
