The Engaging Subnational Governments in Climate Action document is an Insight Brief by the NDC Partnership Support Unit, published in March 2020. It summarizes lessons on how national governments can involve subnational governments in climate action, especially in NDC design, implementation, local planning, and finance.
Key insights:
Subnational governments are essential for implementing climate policies, but they are often not meaningfully involved in designing national climate policies.
As of February 2020, the NDC Partnership had received 134 requests on subnational climate action from 36 countries.
The brief identifies three main ways to engage subnational governments: local multi-stakeholder consultations, local climate plans, and support for local implementation and finance.
Most subnational requests were linked to both mitigation and adaptation, especially through policy frameworks, consultation processes, and finance strategies.
The brief highlights examples from Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, Peru, Colombia, Nepal, the Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe, and Mexico.
Its main message is that stronger vertical coordination between national and local governments helps make climate action more practical, locally relevant, and easier to finance.
