EU GCCA+ Cross-Visit Seals new dimension of climate change collaboration between African citites and municipalities

Five officials from Cotonou, Benin, visited Kigali in Rwanda at the end of March, sealing a new dimension of EU GCCA+ support. Lessons learnt in Kigali have already been integrated by the delegates from Cotonou into their daily jobs.

The trip linked officials from two regional capital cities, to share their knowledge, challenges, progress, and achievements in contributing to updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Immediately after the mission, the First Deputy Mayor of Cotonou who headed the delegation presented a report of trip’s outcomes to a meeting of Municipality on April 19, that included the Mayor of the City of Cotonou and all the district chiefs.

41st General Assembly of AIMF, Kigali (association internationale des maires francophone)

The climate change focal point of the Benin Association of Municipalities participated in several meetings around Benin to share information about how climate change is already affecting local communities, and on opportunities to implement national climate change goals at local levels. At the local level, economic activities will be impacted by temperature rise and heavier rainfall that might affect forestry, agriculture, and food security. Drawing on lessons leant in Kigali, the focal point promoted highlighted how local actors can help national actors to cope with the climate change challenges at local level through actions that will help align Benin’s NDC with the Paris Agreement. Stronger local implementation and better engagement of citizens and communities puts into action work being done by the Beninese Ministry of Environment to scale up ambition and to improve the design and implementation of NDC actions that will be reported in their third National Communication.

Compared with just a few years ago, municipalities across Benin have better access to tools to help them integrate climate issues within local budgets (i.e. third generation development plans). They are able to design local plans that reflect specific climate and energy challenges (i.e. SECAP-sustainable energy and climate action plan), but still need support in scaling up their knowledge and their readiness to design complex mitigation and adaption actions. Kigali’s Master Plan was built through careful analysis of data that also informed implementation planning. It offers a clear example of how to build a green development plan that can be used and replicated in other municipalities of Benin, and showcases how to move from the planning phase to the implementation of actions affecting daily lifestyles and behaviors of citizens.

With Kigali’s approach in mind, the Mayor of Cotonou instructed the climate change focal point of Benin Association of Municipalities and the Director of Technical Services to prepare a Terms of Reference for a study on the urban greening project for the city of Cotonou to be financed in the local budget in 2022.

During the Cotonou Council sessions in June 2021, a new decentralized cooperation project between Kigali and Cotonou was officially launched to strengthen the work initiated in March 2021 and to showcase to other francophone states the fruitful cooperation created between Kigali and Cotonou thanks to the support of GCCA+ project. This cooperation was showcased during the General Assembly of the “Association international des maires francophone” that took place in Kigali from 18-22 July 2021 which brought together 130 officials from 30 countries. The Mayors of Kigali and Cotonou met in the margin of the General Assembly to discuss next steps toward formalizing their commitment to cooperate through a memorandum of understanding. This new level of south-south cooperation with its focus on climate change topics bodes well for the future of climate change action in African cities and municipalities.

Mr Luc ATROKPO, Mayor of Cotonou and President of ANCB (association nationale des communes du Bénin)