11/06/2026
Daring Cities 2026: Local climate action plans as a bridge to NDC delivery
At the 2026 Bonn Dialogues, Chilando Chitangala Mayor of Lusaka, Vice-Chair of the CoM SSA Regional Mayors Forum, joined global leaders to discuss how local climate action can accelerate delivery of Nationally Determined Contributions ( ).
🏙️Drawing on experience of over 400 CoM SSA signatory cities, she highlighted how Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plans ( ) are helping cities translate national climate commitments into concrete local action, investment and implementation.
As an example, she showcased Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, where the city’s SEACAP is closely aligned with Ethiopia’s NDC and Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy. Beyond setting targets, the plan establishes implementation arrangements, monitoring frameworks, and a pipeline of investment-ready projects, helping to turn climate ambition into action on the ground.
Across Africa, cities are already demonstrating how local leadership can drive progress on climate mitigation, adaptation, energy access and resilience. Strengthening city capacity to develop investment-ready projects and access finance will be essential to delivering both national climate goals and global climate ambitions.
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is co-funded by: European Commission Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) AECID and French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
CoM SSA is co-implemented by: AECID, AFD - Agence Française de Développement Expertise France and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
CoM SSA Secretariat is hosted by: Africa
10/06/2026
𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗠 𝗦𝗦𝗔’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
Yesterday, funders, implementing partners and members of the Regional Mayors Forum gathered for the 2026 Steering Committee Meeting, hosted by the European Union’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG-INTPA). The event celebrated CoM SSA as the most significant platform for urban action in the region.
The meeting highlighted CoM SSA’s growing role as one of Africa’s leading initiatives for urban action. With more than 400 signatory cities across Sub-Saharan Africa, the focus is now on translating political commitment into implementation, investment and measurable impact. 🌍
CoM SSA is uniquely positioned to strengthen EU-Africa partnerships and help ensure that climate change and sustainable development investments deliver tangible benefits for communities on the ground. 🤝 🌱
Speaking on behalf of the RMF, Honourable Mayor Chilando Chitangala, Vice Chairperson of the RMF, reflected on the realities facing African local governments in 2026: “𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘢 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.”
The partners emphasised that the success of major investment initiatives in Africa will depend on meaningful engagement with local governments: The EU’s Global Gateway strategy and private sector engagement represent opportunities for the localisation of EU objectives through city climate planning, investment readiness and structured project preparation.
During the meeting, representatives from AECID, AFD, Expertise France, GIZ and the Secretariat host, ICLEI Africa, reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening city-led climate action and accelerating across Africa. 🏙️
is co-funded by: European Commission Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)AECID and French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
CoM SSA is co-implemented by: AECID, AFD - Agence Française de Développement Expertise France and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
CoM SSA Secretariat is hosted by: ICLEI Africa