Smart Cities Expo & World Congress (SCEWC)

At the Smart Cities Expo & World Congress (SCEWC) the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) will showcase the implementation of the GCoM–Ökobit biogas pilot project across three African cities: Mombasa County (Kenya), Basse Area Council (The Gambia), and Sekondi-Takoradi Municipal Assembly (Ghana). As a regional initiative driving climate action at the local level, CoM SSA plays a catalytic role in helping African cities move from planning to implementation. 

Africa Climate Summit 2

Convened by the African Union (AU) Commission and the Government of Ethiopia, ACS2 will bring together African Heads of State, global climate leaders, financiers, the private sector, and experts to advance Africa’s leadership in climate action. ACS2 is envisioned as a critical milestone on the road to COP30 for Africa with a platform to articulate its priorities and commitments, while championing home-grown solutions to driving adaptation and systems-wide transformations.

Climate Week 2

Climate Week 2 will be convened by the UNFCCC Secretariat, in alignment with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. It focuses on accelerating the translation of global decisions into concrete action on the ground and built momentum towards COP30 by providing targeted inputs to the international process.

COP29

CoM SSA Mayors will participate in various events at COP29, bringing local African perspectives to the global arena.

Emerging Giants - Financing Sub-Saharan Africa’s Sustainable Future

The session will spotlight the transformative potential of African local governments in advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly through strategic implementation strategies bolstered by improved access to finance.

Rebuilding for Resilience: Addressing loss and damage in Africa’s urban future

Speed and direct access: key to the effectiveness of the Loss and Damage Fund

At a session on addressing loss and damage in Africa's urban future, co-hosted by CoM SSA and the ICLEI Africa, CoM SSA Mayors share what they think is key for the fund to be effective

Empowering Urban Africa: Sustainable Energy Solutions for Sub-Saharan Cities

The 28th Climate COP will be hosted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the aim of building on past successes and laying the groundwork for future ambitious efforts to effectively address the global challenge of climate change. During COP28, CoM SSA will be co-hosting a virtual session with the European Union as part of the official European Union side events.

Charting a new development pathway: Combating the ‘Pandemic of Inequality’ for local level Climate Resilience

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa invites you to participate at our session at COP28 in the Somalia Pavilion, in the Blue Zone. The session will bring together local leaders and technical experts for a solution-oriented local climate action discussion focused on resilience and adaptation.

Africa Climate Week | Multilevel Climate Action in Africa: Tangible examples, ready for scaling

This side event will build on the themes and key examples explored in the official track and flagship Multilevel Governance cities-focused session at Africa Climate Week (ACW), and focus on action occuring in sub-national governments in Africa.

(T)Winning on Climate Action in Africa: Unlocking finance for city-scale transformation through Multi-level Governance

The Africa Climate Week, running in parallel to the African Climate Summit, provides a unique opportunity for the Covenant of Mayors for sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA), alongside the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency, – to convene an event entitled: (T)Winning on Climate Action in Africa: Unlocking Finance for city-scale transformation through Multi-level Governance. This session will be co-hosted by the COP28 Presidency, ICLEI, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Cities Race to Resilience and the High-Level Climate Champions - Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin and HE Razan al Mubarak. Register here, to join us.

COP27: Climate-related trade-offs: How do African cities navigate complex decision making during the climate change emergency

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan African would like to invite you to join our session at COP27 on 17 November 2022 in the LGMA Multi-Level Action Pavilion. The event will be available for in-person and virtual attendance, in English, French and Portuguese. This session will unpack the trade-offs that leading African city decision makers face every day and provide evidence of how these trade-offs can be navigated in ways that empower those most vulnerable to climate change.

CoM SSA Day at the Week for Sustainable Mobility and Climate

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa is pleased to invite you to the Week for Sustainable Mobility and Climate which will take place in Dakar, Senegal, from the 3rd to 7th of October 2022.

Africa Climate Week | Harnessing Renewable Energy for the Just Energy Transition in African cities

This side event hosted by CoM SSA provides an excellent opportunity for representatives across the continent to advocate for harnessing renewable energy to accelerate the Just Energy Transition and share experiences with regards to attracting finance for the JET in Africa. This is particularly important in the run up to COP 27, advocating for concrete climate change action whilst leveraging innovation and putting justice at the forefront of it.

World Urban Forum: The Way to Financing Sustainable and Resilient Urban Infrastructure – getting the private sector on board

The event will bring city representatives together with donors and financing institutions to have an honest conversation around the need to work collaboratively on project preparation facilitation according to the needs and priorities of local governments and their communities.

Conversations with CoM SSA: Training on Science-based Targets

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa Secretariat is partnering with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability to offer a training session on setting Science-based Targets for African cities.

Join us: Youth and Cities vs. Climate Change

We are pleased to invite you to join a virtual session at Africa-Europe Week on 17 February 2022 at 3.00 pm CET. The event will be streamed in English and French. This session will focus on how cities, local organisations and youth can team up to fight climate change.

Join us: Messages from African Mayors for COP26

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan African would like to invite you to join our hybrid session at COP26 on 4 November 2021 in the Multi-Level Action Pavilion. The event will be streamed in English, French and Portuguese. This session will provide an opportunity for African Mayors to engage in discussion with high-level climate representatives from the United Nations, the European Commission, and other key stakeholders around the expected outcomes of the negotiations at COP26 and the implications for local governments.

CoM SSA at GIZ Urban October 2021 – Boosting low emission and climate resilient infrastructure for growing cities

Join CoM SSA for a panel discussion on 27 October where signatory cities will share concrete examples of positive and enduring change leading to a better integration of climate change and energy issues into their local development plans. The session will be available in English.

CoM SSA day at Climate Chance Summit Dakar 2021

On September 15th, the CoM SSA Day-event will take place in Dakar and will be streamed online in French, English, and Portuguese. The most pressing issues for climate change at the local level in the Sub-Saharan Africa region will be highlighted during the day.

Conversations with CoM SSA: African cities take control of waste management

Join CoM SSA for a city knowledge exchange on waste management on 29 July at 14h00 CAT. Participants will be able to learn, discuss and share experiences of waste management challenges and innovations in Africa. The session will be available in French and English.

Africa Cities and Built Environment Day of Dialogues

The Africa Cities and Built Environment Day of Dialogues will be held under the banner of Race to Resilience, launched by the High-Level Climate Champions and designed to catalyse a step-change in global ambition to build the resilience of 4 billion people by 2030.

Conversations with CoM SSA: Gender-Sensitive Public lighting : How and why?

Join CoM SSA for a deep-dive on “Gender mainstreaming in the development of public lighting projects in sub-Saharan African cities” webinar on 24 June at 13h00 CAT (13h00 CET) for English speakers, and on 24 June at 15h00 CAT (15h00 CET) for French speakers.

Launch of the support to CoM SSA signatory cities in Togo on the sidelines of upcoming Regional Forum

CoM SSA implementing partner Expertise France is pleased to invite you to a workshop to launch the national support process for CoM SSA signatory cities in Togo. This launch will take place alongside the Regional Forum on Resilience and climate ambition of West-African local governments, co-organised with UCLG-A. In hybrid form, the forum will be held in Lomé (Togo) from 10 to 11 June 2021 and online.

RISE Africa: CoM SSA session

Financing gender-sensitive climate action in African cities

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa is excited to invite you to the RISE Africa Action Festival 2021 for a session focused on gender and climate action. The session will be held on Monday, 24 May 2021 at 15h00 CAT.

Conversations with CoM SSA

The State of renewable energy in African cities

Join CoM SSA’s next webinar on 25 March at 14h00 CAT, for a deep-dive on the state of renewable energy in African cities. The webinar brings together city and renewable energy experts to share their perspectives on the current status, challenges and discuss how local governments in the region are heeding the call to act on renewable energy.

Conversations with CoM SSA

Financing local climate action in Africa

Cities worldwide need to take action to fight against and adapt to climate change, and African cities are no exception. But municipalities often face the challenge: how can such projects be financed to make them happen?

Conversations with CoM SSA

Case Studies on Solid Waste Management

Join CoM SSA and partners on 16th Feb 2021 for the launch of a case studies report on lessons learnt in solid waste management in Sub-Saharan Africa.