Objectives & scope
Local governments can have a comparative advantage if they choose to take Climate Action Initiative and the lead on applying climate change & energy policies, through the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of concrete local climate actions.
In the Mediterranean region, Climate Action Initiative at local level is particularly needed as national policies do not respond to the hot-spot challenges and where actions should be originated and tailored to local circumstances and the need of resident constituencies.
Mayors across the South Mediterranean have shown strong commitment to the Covenant of Mayors, CoM Med, with numerous cities having joined through the earlier CES-Med project and a significant increase in participation through the Clima-Med project.
Objectives & Scope
Signatories’ vision
Signatories endorse a shared vision for 2050: accelerating the decarbonisation of their territories, strengthening their capacity to adapt to unavoidable climate change impacts, and allowing their citizens to access secure, sustainable and affordable energy.
Signatories’ commitments
Signatory cities pledge action to support implementation of their National Determined Contribution (NDC) target by 2030 and the adoption of a joint approach to tackle mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
In order to translate their political commitment into practical measures and projects, Covenant signatories commit to submit, within two years following the date of the local council decision, a Baseline Emission Inventory to track mitigation actions and a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment. A complete Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP), outlining the key actions they plan to undertake, is to be submitted at the latest within three years following the local council decision. The adaptation strategy can either be part of the SEACAP or developed and mainstreamed in a separate planning document. This bold political commitment marks the beginning of a long-term process with cities committed to reporting every two years on the implementation progress of their plans.