• Cop29 once again demonstrates that this negotiating structure needs to be reformed.
• An example can come from cities, which are more dynamic and agile in embracing change.
• An overview of the fight against the climate crisis with Mark Watts, executive director of C40.

Once upon a time there was a television show inspired by the prisoner's dilemma. Two contestants, who had never met before, had one goal: to earn each other's trust. If both chose (with their cards face down) to share the prize money on offer — let's say 100,000 euros — each would win half: 50,000 euros. If one of the two chose not to share it and the other did, the "selfish" one would take the entire pot. If both chose not to share it, they would both go home empty-handed. The most logical choice — evidently — would be to share the prize money, that is, to give up the prospect of the full 100 per cent in order to be at least certain of not going home empty-handed. And yet, things did not always go according to logic. Sometimes it happened that, at the end of the bargaining — aimed at convincing the other of one's honesty and reliability — one of the two decided not to share the prize money in an attempt to take the entire pot home. This was one of the most dramatic moments, because the other person, the one who had decided to share, not only found themselves empty-handed but felt betrayed. Even more rarely, both would choose not to share the prize money, turning the game into a total defeat. This lengthy introduction helps us understand why, in these hours of negotiations and bargaining at Cop29 in Baku, it is proving so difficult to reach an agreement on climate finance. Broadly because no one wants to expose themselves, and everyone fears that by making financial commitments towards the transition, the other parties will not do the same.

The virtuous example of cities fighting against the climate crisis

And yet, an example of multilateralism that responds to the healthiest principles of collaboration and trust does exist, and it is the one put forward by cities. To help us better understand why this mechanism is virtuous, we interviewed Mark Watts, executive director of C40, the network of nearly one hundred major cities united in acting to tackle the climate crisis. We met him at the Brazil pavilion — the country he had just returned from after putting the network's experience and expertise at the disposal of G20 leaders through the parallel U20 summit. Brazil is also the country that will host Cop30 next year, a conference on which many are placing great hopes. In Rio de Janeiro, Watts began the conversation, "we made available the multilateral leadership framework that works in cities, many of which have already met the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate through the adoption of plans they are carrying forward and constantly monitoring." A framework that works, but one that needs financial support from governments. For this reason, C40's hope is that Baku will produce a commitment to public investment of "800 billion dollars a year to be reached by 2030, so that the action plans cities have adopted to play their part in keeping the rise in average global temperature in check can be supported."

Cities can close 40% of the gap between mitigation and 1.5°C

Money that would be decidedly well spent, given that 82 per cent of the cities that are part of C40 is already reducing its emissions — and doing so faster than their respective national governments. Moreover, looking at the gap, at the gap that currently exists between emissions cuts at the global level and the goal of keeping the rise in average global temperature within 1.5 degrees Celsius, "cities could go so far as to close this gap by 40 per cent; the potential is enormous and the opportunity must be seized so that it is exploited to the full."

At this point it is legitimate to ask how it might be possible to bring this form of trust-based multilateralism, with its predisposition towards action, into relations between states as well. "The difficulty is that multilateralism at the Cops is focused on constant negotiation between countries," says Watts. "A country will make concessions only if others do the same. Whereas the model of multilateralism we have among C40 cities is very different. All the administrations have accepted the emissions reduction targets proposed by science, as well as the adaptation and transition targets. Each city draws up a plan and then its implementation is verified collectively." A kind of shared equilibrium that is anything but precarious: "We carry out an annual stocktake of actions so as to monitor where each city stands. If cities do not deliver on their plans and are not active within the network, they risk losing their C40 membership status. So there is an interest and an incentive to always be proactive," the executive director continues.

C40 Cities @c40cities

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Why should cities have a greater role in international climate negotiations? Because they are going further and faster than national governments. C40’s @MarkWatts_ on why city leadership is crucial to address the climate crisis. #COP29

♥ 11 21 nov 2024 · Apri su X →

Among cities there are no antagonistic blocs

All that remains is to ask Watts for an example — not only of multilateralism, but of effective collaboration between cities belonging to those groups (industrialised, emerging and developing countries) that are at odds with one another at the Cops: "I have just been to China to celebrate the first anniversary of the inauguration of the green shipping corridor between Shanghai, one of the world's largest ports, and Los Angeles, to which Singapore is now being added. This is an excellent example of collaboration because these cities have the real power to change the entire maritime industry by requiring all those entering their respective ports to present a green ship [that is, a certificate demonstrating strategies aimed at reducing emissions and limiting water pollution, ed.] where it is possible to connect to electricity grids powered by renewable sources while docked, instead of using diesel-powered engines." Then there is the example of Tokyo, which decided to help Kuala Lumpur, a rapidly growing city in Malaysia, to adopt forward-looking new building regulations. "Tokyo is very innovative in using the emissions market to push private skyscraper owners to retrofit their buildings and reduce electricity demand. The market," Watts explains, "is therefore useful for covering these costs."

Cultivating trust and collaboration in order to build a better future for everyone is therefore the key for cities. A model that must also be embraced at the international level — in the sense of relations between nations — if we are to avoid the risk that the prisoner's dilemma leaves us all with nothing left in our hands.