With over 70% of states and regional governments advancing with ambitious transition plans, they are key to driving down emissions across the globe, the Under2 Coalition said in a new report today.
Marking a decade of subnational leadership, the Coalition has mobilised US$18 million for peer learning and capacity building, including US$1.5 million through the Future Fund to support 53 regions in emerging and developing economies.
The Under2 Coalition, the world’s biggest network of states and regions that are driving climate action today launched its report “Keeping the Paris Agreement alive: A decade of subnational action and global impact”. The 10th anniversary report showed how nearly 200 states and regions have become an indispensable engine for delivering global climate goals.
Launched at COP21 in Paris, the Coalition has grown from just 12 governments in 2015 to more than fifteen-fold to almost 200 members across 36 countries, representing around 2 billion people and roughly half the world’s economy. Together, their policies and actions hold an annual emissions reduction potential of about 2 GtCO₂e – which would be equivalent to decarbonising the world’s fifth largest emitter.
Dr Champa Patel, Executive Director for Governments and Policy at Climate Group, said:
“Ten years on from Paris, this report shows that climate transformation happens where people live and work. Our members now represent over half the global economy, turning national promises into local plans, budgets and projects. The Global Stock Take makes it clear we’re not on track for 1.5°C – but it also shows the power to implement lies with subnational actors. The next decade must be about turning that readiness into scale.”
Governor Jerry Brown, co-founder of the Under2 Coalition, said:
“When we started this coalition ten years ago, there were just 12 of us who knew climate change wouldn’t wait and that we had to act together. Today, nearly 200 states and regions are delivering more renewables, cleaner transport and conservation on a massive scale. The work is far from done, but this report shows what fearless cooperation can achieve. Now we have to summon even more courage and move faster to build a liveable future for people everywhere.”
Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, said:
“The Paris Agreement was always designed as a whole-of-society effort, not something national governments could deliver alone. Over the past decade, states and regions have shown they not only want to act – they can act, often faster and further than national authorities. This report proves that leadership is producing real results, from expanding clean energy to building resilience. The challenge now is to align planning and budgets with climate goals and channel finance to where implementation happens.”
The report underlines that subnational governments are now responsible for the majority of climate-significant public investment and expenditure in key sectors such as energy, transport, housing and water, making them primary public financiers of climate implementation.
Despite geopolitical headwinds – including national rollbacks, cancelled clean-energy projects and continued fossil fuel expansion – the Under2 Coalition, which was founded by California and Baden-Württemberg, has continued to grow, deepen cooperation and deliver tangible results on the ground. The report calls for the next decade to focus on finalising investor-ready Subnational Transition Plans, embedding multilevel governance into future NDCs and scaling finance that supports both infrastructure and institutional capacity.
The report “Keeping the Paris Agreement alive: A decade of subnational action and global impact” is available here Under2 Coalition 10th anniversary report | Climate Group
