COP21 (Conference of Parties), also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, attracted close to 50,000 participants including 25,000 official delegates from government, intergovernmental organizations, United Nations (UN) agencies, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), and civil society. These individuals were brought together for the first time in more than 20 years of UN negations to establish the first universal climate agreement. 

The following three posts describe what took place at COP21 and what the agreement means for local governments. Also don’t miss the 10 climate change videos noted in the last sentence of this blog post.

COP21 Review and the Role of the US

This CityLinks post offers readers a summary of the discussions that took place during COP 21 and the impact for local leaders. Learn More Here

COP21 and Local Governments as Leaders

In response to President Obama’s recent State of the Union Address in which he highlighted the spirit of innovation, this post discusses how local governments have already been at the forefront of developing innovative solutions for climate issues. Learn More Here

COP21: Paris Agreement Recognizes Role of Local Government in Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change

This post from ICMA’s Center for Sustainable Communities blog offers readers an explanation of what COP is, why COP21 is important, and what readers can do going forward. Learn More Here

CityLinks Session at COP21

ICMA’s CityLinks participated in the COP 21 session entitled “Urban & Local Self-Leadership and Capacity Building from Within: Emerging Examples from the Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) Network of Cities.” Watch the Session Here

If you’re interested in learning more about climate change, check out its topic page on the Knowledge Network and watch these 10 videos on climate change. 

Douglas Shontz

Knowledge Network Research and Content Development Associate