Last week, the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2014 (COP20) came to a close 34 hours after it was supposed to. The result was an initial framework for a large-scale climate action agreement among the nearly 200 nations in attendance. Independently of this, cities spent their time at the COP20 coming to some agreements of their own. With over 20 side events geared towards sustainability and climate action for cities and local governments, representatives were able to share unique perspectives and delve into deep discussion on how to raise the global level of ambition through local action. The two most significant things to come from these events are:

The Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC): Created by the World Resources Institute in conjunction with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and ICLEI, the GPC will help cities develop an emissions baseline, set mitigation goals, create specific action plans and track and report progress over time. It is being piloted in over 100 cities with 500 more expected next year.

The Lima Communiqué: A commitment by cities and local governments to increase advocacy for global climate action, scale down greenhouse gasses, and work collaboratively to achieve climate goals. The Communiqué was produced at a high-level meeting organized by ICLEI. Representatives from cities in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay, England, Japan, South Korea, France, Poland, and Peru were in attendance.