In a pivotal gathering at the Palais des Nations, Azerbaijan’s COP29 Presidency and chair country of the recently established Baku Continuity Coalition on Urban, Multisectoral and Multilevel Climate Action, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, and WHO, hosted a briefing to Member States highlighting the momentum behind urban climate initiatives in the context of the UNFCCC COP processes.
The briefing was moderated by the UN-Habitat Associate Program Officer Ms. Lea Ranalder, and the co-leader of the COP29 Action Agenda Initiatives team Mr. Elmar Mammadov, the chief of the Geneva Office of UN-Habitat Dr. Graham Alabaster, and the Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment at WHO Dr. Maria Neira, all delivered opening remarks at the briefing, and emphasized the rising global recognition of cities and local governments as key actors in climate action.
Central to the discussion was the key updates on the Declaration on Multisectoral Action Pathways (MAP) to Resilient and Healthy Cities adopted at COP29, which brings a fresh focus on resilience, nature, health and technology in urban climate planning, and creates an important synergy between UNFCCC COP’s urban processes and UN-Habitat’s WUFs through establishment of the Baku Continuity Coalition. The MAP Declaration was endorsed by over 200 stakeholders, including 54 countries, 100 cities and over 40 organisations.
Briefing on COP29 Declaration on Multisectoral Action Pathways
Adviser to the Minister of Housing of Egypt, Dr Abdel Khalek Ibrahim, Deputy head of the Permanent Mission of United Arab Emirates to the UN in Geneva, Ms. Shahd Matar , Deputy Chief of Staff, State Committee on Urban Development and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ms. Gulshan Rzayeva, COP29 Action Agenda Team member, Ms. Lala Hikmat, and Chief International Adviser at the Ministry of Cities of Brazil, Ambassador Antonio da Costa e Silva joined the briefing to talk about the the Baku Continuity Coalition on Urban, Multisectoral and Multilevel Climate Action, which has united COP27 (Egypt), COP28 (UAE), COP29 (Azerbaijan), and COP30 (Brazil) Presidencies establishing a groundbreaking multilateral partnership driving coherence between past, present, and future climate agendas.
Updates from key initiatives like COP27 SURGe (Sustainable Urban Resilience for the next Generation), COP28 CHAMP (Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships) and the roadmap to COP30 reinforced the commitment to multilevel and multisectoral urban resilience.
UN agencies and partners, including the Secretary to the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management from UNECE, Ms. Tea Aulavuo, Director, DRR, MHEWS Office and Public Services Division from WMO, Mr Cyrille Honore, Deputy Head, Sustainable Infrastructure Group from EBRD, Ms Lin O’Grady, Co-Director, Global
Cities Hub from LGMA, Ms Kamelia Kemileva, and Counsellor, United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) from ITU, Ms. Cristina Bueti shared developments on integrating smart cities, early warning systems, and sustainable infrastructure into urban climate strategies. The session concluded with open-floor interventions, affirming strong international backing for continuity and collaboration in urban climate leadership.
