How CHAMP Is Elevating Local Leaders to Fight Climate Change
Mayors, Governors, and Regional Leaders from Around the World Gathered During COP31 to Release the CHAMP COP31 Statement
Article Written by Bruno Bartholini
On November 11, 2026, the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) for Climate Action convened in Antalya, Turkey for the second meeting of its Subnational Advisory Council (SAC).
City mayors, governors and regional leaders from across five continents gathered during COP31 to identify shared priorities for the year ahead, strengthen cooperation between subnational and national governments, and endorse the COP31 CHAMP Statement. Established at London Climate Action Week 2026, the CHAMP Subnational Advisory Council works to elevate the perspectives of city, state, and regional leaders directly to the CHAMP coalition’s 80 endorsers. The CHAMP SAC is made up of five mayors and three regional leaders serving for two years. It is co-facilitated by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) and the Under2 Coalition, in close collaboration with C40 Cities and the World Resources Institute (WRI), which serves as the Secretariat of the CHAMP Coalition.
Notably, the meeting focused on opportunities where multilevel cooperation between national and subnational governments can deliver climate action, where current policies are falling short, and where the Council can input their experiences and expertise most effectively in the year ahead.
The CHAMP SAC and the CHAMP Steering Group jointly released the CHAMP COP31 Statement on the need to strengthen collaboration across all levels of government, marking the first time national and subnational leaders from the coalition have spoken with one voice on how to translate climate ambition into delivery. It calls for stronger multilevel governance, deeper integration of subnational governments into global climate processes and greater investment in local implementation.
The statement sets out priorities across the three pillars of the CHAMP Implementation Roadmap:
Strengthening multilevel climate governance, including greater recognition of subnational governments within the Second Global Stocktake (GST2) process and stronger use of local evidence and expertise in assessing climate progress;
Catalyzing partnerships for local delivery, ensuring that Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and sectoral initiatives can be implemented through coordinated action across levels of government; and
Scaling up and unlocking finance, including strengthening project preparation support, connecting local investment pipelines with financing opportunities and increasing access to climate finance for cities, states and regions.
Anne Hidalgo, former Mayor of Paris, France and Chair of the CHAMP Subnational Advisory Council, comments:"Cities and regions are delivering climate action every single day - by building affordable, climate-resilient housing, addressing the impacts of extreme heat and weather events, and ensuring vulnerable communities have access to clean and reliable energy. The Subnational Advisory Council exists to ensure this ambitious local action helps shape international goals and priorities, and that national governments and subnational leaders plan, finance and deliver together. Our session today outlined where this partnership can make the greatest collective difference over the next twelve months and set a direction for CHAMP signatories to follow."
In parallel, Mayor Alfredo Coro of Del Carmen, Philippines states:“Serving on the CHAMP Subnational Advisory Council reinforces a fundamental truth: national climate targets cannot be achieved without frontline, vulnerable and active local governments at the decision-making table. CHAMP was established precisely to foster this high-ambition multilevel partnership, and PhilLOCAL is that vision brought to life in the Philippines. This collaboration is testament to just, inclusive, and localized governance - connecting climate science, culture, digital tools, and financing opportunities with smaller, highly vulnerable island and coastal municipalities like Del Carmen.”
Other prominent regional leaders serving in CHAMP include Antônio Da Costa, Chief International Advisor at Brazil's Ministry of Cities; Eduardo Leite, Governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Thekla Walker, Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Germany; and Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen, Morocco.
While the COP31 Meeting in Turkey is scheduled to conclude on November 20, 2026, one thing is clear: local leaders are poised to play an even greater role in mitigating the climate crisis within the next several years.
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Bruno Bartholini is a Brazilian journalist and Senior Manager of Media Relations at C40 Cities & Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) Joint Program. He leads international press engagement and external communications regarding urban climate action. Prior to joining C40, he coordinated public communications for the city government of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including as a spokesperson for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He holds a Bachelor's degree in journalism from PUC-Rio and a postgraduate degree in public administration from PUC Minas. Alongside his work, he is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Media, Society and Communication at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
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