Local leaders from around the world have highlighted the role of local governments in the past, present and future of the global movement.

22nd April, Friday – To coincide with Earth Day, representatives from national governments worldwide gathered to sign the Paris Agreement reached at COP21 in December last year.

In the run-up to this important event, ICLEI has joined forces with other local government networks to mobilise local leaders from around the world to demonstrate their support for the Paris Agreement. Mayors and cities have therefore encouraged national leaders to sign the agreement and join the campaign on social media through the #Cities4Climate initiative, demonstrating how cities are accelerating climate action and raising their ambitions globally.

This mobilisation reflects the growing organisation among local leaders around the world to increase their efforts in combating climate change. This collective ambition reached its crucial point during COP21, when Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of the City of Paris, and Michael Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, promoted the Climate Conference for Local Leaders – the largest gathering of local leaders committed to combating climate change.

This commitment is based on clear actions. Around 500 cities are already part of the Mayors' Compact, the largest coalition bringing together ambitious leaders to demonstrate the collective impact of local climate action. During COP21, the Compact announced that the commitments made by the cities that have joined the initiative could account for half of the potential reduction in global urban greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Meanwhile, 25% of the more than 6,000 local governments that have signed the Covenant of Mayors (Covenant of Mayors) in Europe are exceeding the EU's 2020 mitigation ambitions – and over 600 reporting entities to Climate Carbon Registern They pledged to reduce 1 gigatonne of emissions by 2020.

This serves as a strong reminder that cities are leading the way in global climate change.

ICLEI has been a key player in consolidating this momentum. At COP21, ICLEI helped facilitate the Local Leaders' Climate Summit and organised the Cities and Regions Pavilion – TAP2015, a very important platform for showcasing local action at the heart of our time's most significant climate negotiation. Thanks to the joint efforts of local leaders and subnational government networks, Cities were explicitly recognised as important actors in the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, over the past two decades, ICLEI has been at the forefront of local climate action, uniting local governments as they strengthen their capacity for sustainability and advocating for their role in seeking more support from national governments and international bodies. The Paris Agreement was born from years of dedicated monitoring and engagement.

The Paris Agreement also represents the successful conclusion of the Local Government Climate Route, which, since its creation in 2007, has called on national governments for the recognition, engagement and empowerment of local governments in the international process of combating climate change. ICLEI created and led the LGCR in its role as the focal point for Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) for the UNFCCC.

While the Paris Agreement represents a significant and historic step forward in combating climate change, current national government commitments are insufficient to achieve its objectives. Therefore, the challenge is to increase ambition and accelerate action, especially in increasing funding at the local level, where mitigation actions are already underway.

On this Earth Day, ICLEI celebrates the achievements of local governments, their position within the new global climate agreement, and their ambitions for a sustainable future.