GCoM marks a decade of climate action with a coalition of 14,000+ cities across 150 countries, representing 1.3 billion people and projected to collectively reduce emissions by 4.5 GtCO2e by 2050

• New partnership with Global Solar Council targets 300 million rooftop solar systems by 2030
• Gap Fund partnership extended to mid-2027 for a total funding of  $2.55 million to accelerate urban climate projects
• EBRD, C40 and GCoM deepen cooperation on urban climate investment

London, UK (24 June 2026) — The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) today marked a decade of city climate leadership, announcing a new partnership with the Global Solar Council, an extension of its City Climate Finance Gap Fund, and a deepened cooperation agreement with EBRD and C40 Cities to accelerate urban climate investment, among other commitments to help cities deliver the next decade of global climate action.

Launched in 2016 in the wake of the Paris Agreement to help turn global climate commitments into local action, GCoM has grown into the world’s largest alliance for city climate leadership. It now connects more than 14,000 cities and local governments across 150 countries and represents more than 1.3 billion people – approximately one in seven people worldwide.

 “Ten years ago, cities were becoming recognized as important stakeholders in climate action. Today, they are the ones delivering it — cutting emissions while making their cities healthier, stronger, and more resilient. There’s still so much more to do, but with mayors at the forefront, we have an opportunity to confront climate change in ways that grow our economies and improve lives,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, GCoM Co-Chair, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, and Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

GCoM cities are taking more than 220,000 actions to cut emissions, adapt to climate impacts, and reduce energy poverty, creating USD $105 billion in investment opportunities, a figure that has tripled over the past decade. Since its founding, GCoM has provided nearly USD $270 million in strategic and technical support and helped nearly 7,500 cities develop climate action plans.

By 2050, actions taken by GCoM cities could reduce emissions by 4.5 GtCO2e — equivalent to the combined annual emissions of India and Argentina. Notably, 83% of GCoM cities have adopted climate targets more ambitious than those of their national governments, while 55% are on track to achieve them ahead of national timelines based on the latest nationally determined contributions.

“The next decade of climate action will be defined by implementation. Cities are where climate policies become real investments, real infrastructure and real improvements in people’s lives. The years ahead will be decisive to activate the cooperation needed across all levels of government and turn commitments into results. Only through effective action on the ground will we succeed in protecting people, strengthening resilience and saving lives. GCoM has helped build a global movement of local leaders committed to delivering results, and that role will be even more important as we prepare for the next phase of the Paris Agreement. Inspired local leadership and effective implementation can help unlock and boost further climate solutions at the local level,” said Teresa Ribera, GCoM Co-Chair and Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.

Accelerating rooftop solar

As part of its tenth anniversary, GCoM announced a new strategic partnership with the Global Solar Council (GSC) to double the global deployment of rooftop solar and storage systems on homes, small businesses and public buildings like schools over the next four years, reaching a global target of 300 million systems by 2030.

This partnership, with the world’s largest association of solar and storage industry leaders, positions GCoM cities and local governments to drive real-world deployment at scale, and is set to be the most significant subnational contribution to the COP28 goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 at the urban and community level.

Unlocking access to finance

GCoM also extended its partnership with the City Climate Finance Gap Fund through mid-2027 for a total of USD $2.55 million, in agreement with the World Bank. The renewed partnership will focus on turning local climate ambitions into implementation-ready projects in developing and emerging economies. Since 2022, the initiative has unlocked investment needed to move climate projects from concept to implementation, building the technical capacity of more than 3,000 local leaders and refining more than 350 urban climate project ideas.

At the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) ‘Green Cities Mayors’ Event’, EBRD, C40 Cities and GCoM agreed to deepen cooperation. The agreement targets  countries where EBRD, C40 and GCoM have presence, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, and aims to increase both public and private investment in urban climate mitigation and adaptation.

“For cities and local governments across the Global South — including small cities like Chefchaouen — climate action is not a future priority, it is a present necessity. GCoM has given us the tools, the data and the community to act. What we need now is finance that reaches us directly, not filtered through layers that were never designed with local governments in mind,” said Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen, Morocco, and GCoM Regional Ambassador.

Accelerating multi-level cooperation

GCoM, in partnership with the Under2 Coalition, also convened the first meeting of the CHAMP Subnational Advisory Council. This new body was launched to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between national and subnational governments under the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP), a coalition backed by 78 endorsers including the European Union, representing 36% of the global population, 69% of global GDP and 40% of global emissions, to align climate policy and finance across levels of government.

“The multilevel partnerships we have built over the past decade between cities, national governments and international financial institutions are not diplomatic niceties. They are the architecture through which climate finance actually reaches the places that need it most: cities. CHAMP is proof that this model works, and scaling it is the defining task of the next ten years,” said Anne Hidalgo, former Mayor of Paris and GCoM Global Ambassador.

Welcoming a new decade of climate action and leadership

As governments prepare for COP31, GCoM formally introduced its 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, focused on implementation, monitoring progress and scaling impact through multi-level collaboration and access to finance. The alliance also held a meeting of its Board of Mayors, welcoming new nominees from Renca, Chile; Kochi, India; and Gdańsk, Poland.

“The next decade will be defined by our ability to move faster – from planning to implementation, from projects to investment, and from isolated action to true multilevel collaboration,” said Andy Deacon, GCoM Co-Managing Director.

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About the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM)

GCoM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership, uniting a global coalition of over 14,000 cities and local governments and 100+ supporting partners. The cities and partners of GCoM share a long-term vision of supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and towards a resilient and low-emission society. GCoM serves cities and local governments by mobilizing and supporting ambitious, measurable, planned climate and energy action in their communities by working with city/regional networks, national governments, and other partners to achieve our vision. Led today by UN Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael R. Bloomberg and European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera, the coalition comprises cities across 6 continents and 150 countries, representing over 1 billion people or more than 13 percent of the global population.

To learn more about GCoM, please visit our website, or follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.