Compact of Mayors

Compact of Mayors
Name	Compact of Mayors
Formation	2014
Founders	Michael Bloomberg, United Nations, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
Type	International coalition
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	Global
Leader title	Chair
Leader name	Michael Bloomberg

Contents

Compact of Mayors The Compact of Mayors was an international coalition of city leaders convened to coordinate municipal efforts on climate change mitigation and climate adaptation. It brought together mayors from cities across continents including those in New York City, London, Paris, Tokyo, and São Paulo to align local greenhouse gas inventories, climate action planning, and public reporting. The Compact sought to bridge action among networks such as C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and the United Nations system while interfacing with national mechanisms like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Background and formation

The Compact of Mayors emerged from dialogues among municipal leaders, philanthropic initiatives, and intergovernmental bodies following high-profile events including the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit, and engagements by philanthropists such as Michael Bloomberg and foundations like the Bloomberg Philanthropies and Rockefeller Foundation. Influences included programmatic models from C40 Cities, operational standards from ICLEI, reporting frameworks like the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and international commitments under the Paris Agreement negotiations. The launch involved collaboration with institutions including the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, UN-Habitat, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The Compact established commitments for mayors to measure citywide greenhouse gas emissions, set reduction targets informed by scientific guidance from bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and publicly report progress to support transparency and credibility in the lead-up to global processes such as the Conference of the Parties sessions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It encouraged alignment with frameworks promulgated by entities like the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, the World Resources Institute, and the International Energy Agency. Commitments aimed at synergy with sectoral initiatives including the C40 Transport Declaration, the Mayors Adapt program, and municipal engagement with multilateral development banks such as the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank.

Membership encompassed mayors from a wide spectrum of cities including capitals and secondary cities across regions represented by networks like European Committee of the Regions, Association of Southeast Asian Nations municipalities, and city alliances involving City of Cape Town, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Moscow, Beijing, and Mumbai. Governance arrangements integrated advisory partners from United Nations Environment Programme, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, International Council on Clean Transportation, and philanthropic stakeholders such as Paulson Institute affiliates. Steering mechanisms referenced models used by C40 Cities boards, committee structures akin to those in ICLEI, and reporting oversight similar to procedures at the Green Climate Fund.

The Compact emphasized standardized measurement employing protocols like the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories and data tools developed in partnership with groups such as the World Resources Institute, CDP (organization), and ICLEI. Reporting interfaces drew on platforms used by the Carbon Disclosure Project, and verification practices were informed by methods from ISO standards bodies and academic partners including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, and Stanford University. These systems enabled compatibility with national Nationally Determined Contributions processes overseen by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and supported aggregation efforts used by institutions such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and World Bank datasets.

Initiatives under the Compact included city-level climate action plans, emissions inventories, resilience assessments, and partnership projects with actors like the Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and corporate collaborators such as Siemens, Schneider Electric, and IBM. Pilot projects mirrored programs like the C40 Cities Finance Facility, urban mobility initiatives exemplified by the TransMilenio project in Bogotá, low-emission zones modeled on schemes in London, and retrofit programs reflecting work in New York City and Berlin. Collaborative research involved universities such as University of California, Berkeley, Tsinghua University, ETH Zurich, and think tanks like Rocky Mountain Institute and World Resources Institute.

The Compact influenced subsequent consolidation into the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and affected mayoral engagement in major events including the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris and ongoing dialogues at the COP. Its legacy includes enhanced municipal reporting practices adopted across networks like C40 Cities, ICLEI, and national city associations including the United States Conference of Mayors and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Criticisms addressed concerns raised by analysts at institutions such as Chatham House, Brookings Institution, and Center for American Progress about accountability, varying capacity among cities like Dakar and Lagos, and the challenge of linking local action to national Nationally Determined Contributions. The Compact's integration into broader coalitions influenced finance mobilization strategies with partners including the European Investment Bank and private financiers like BlackRock and contributed to urban climate governance scholarship at centers such as LSE Cities and MIT Media Lab.

Category:Climate policy