Cities at the heart of discussions in the IPCC’s 61st Plenary in Sofia

After a week-long meeting in the Bulgarian Capital, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agreed on the outlines of two important reports, one of which focuses on cities as fundamental actors in the context of climate change. The Covenant of Mayors was in Sofia to participate in the dialogue, as local governments were in the centre of discussions, and to co-organise a conference involving Bulgarian local authorities.  

Highlights of the Event

The 61st Plenary Session of the IPCC in Sofia gathered 230 delegates from 114 member governments and was attended by Siir Kilkis, Vice-Chair of Working Group III of IPCC, European Commission DG RTD's Philippe Tulkens, the Bulgarian Minister of Environment, the Deputy Minister of Energy, and many stakeholders working on mitigation and adaptation to climate change.  

One of the key outcomes of the session was the IPCC’s agreement on the outlines of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers.

Cities as key actors in climate action

The agreed outline of the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities includes trends, challenges and opportunities for cities in a changing climate, the actions and solutions to reduce urban risks and emissions, how to facilitate and accelerate change in the context of cities, and solutions by city and types and regions. Panel’s approval and publication of this Special Report are scheduled for March 2027. The detailed outline is available here.

The scientific leadership of the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities is shared between the IPCC’s three Working Groups. The Co-Chairs of Working Group II – Winston Chow and Bart van den Hurk – who are leading the report’s production, stressed that this Special Report is of immense relevance to many stakeholders around the world for implementing effective climate action in cities, adding that their team is dedicated to its timely development over the next three years.

Engaging municipalities in a multi-level governance space for dialogue and exchange

As part of the IPCC session, the EU Covenant of Mayors teamed up with other EU urban initiatives, the EU Mission of Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities and the EU Mission on Adaptation, to co-organise a conference with a large range of Bulgarian stakeholders.

The conference, entitled “Climate Policies as an Opportunity for Investment in Urban Development”, launched a Bulgarian Mission Climate, creating a space for multi-level governance dialogue and exchange between all relevant actors at the national, regional and local level to come up with better integration of climate and energy efforts across all levels of governance.

Amidst prolonged heatwaves and fires devastating the country, this event comes at an important time, underscoring the urgent need for all levels of government to address climate risks, together.