In a world dominated by mitigation-focused negotiations and COP21, the Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) raises the adaptation flag on behalf of local governments worldwide. The Charter is the outcome of the local government convention convened during COP17, and has been signed by a total of 283 city leaders and local government asso­ciations representing over 1000 local governments from 45 countries worldwide. The DAC is Africa-based and led, and the majority of its signatories are from countries and cities in the ‘Global South.’ The DAC promotes a regionalized knowledge-network model of imple­mentation, developing partnerships and linkages between local mu­nicipalities within and between different regions in order to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and exchange. The DAC represents a voice still poorly represented in the international climate change arena, that of vulnerable (and often poor) cities that have no option but to self-organize in the face of growing climate risk - frequently in the ab­sence of national and international support. The DAC experience sug­gests that with minimal, structured and reliable support, significant global momentum could be generated at the city level to tackle adap­tation and development needs. It is an opportunity we should not waste.

This month’s speakers, Dr. Debra Roberts, head of the Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department of eThekwini Municipality (Durban, South Africa), and Susanne M. Torriente, the Assistant City Manager for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have been working together over the last several years to facilitate peer-to-peer learning opportunities around adaptation that promote the core principals of the DAC.

With support from the USAID funded CityLinks Program, implement­ed by ICMA, communities that signed on to the Southeast Florida Re­gional Climate Compact have been working closely with the Durban Adaptation Charter to promote the idea of climate compacts amongst regions that share common natural resources and adaptation chal­lenges, but may not share political boundaries.