Background

At the beginning of 2025, extreme heat already affected many parts of the world, with temperatures exceeding 45°C in cities in Brazil, Pakistan, Spain, Türkiye and many other places. Heatwaves are on the rise globally, getting hotter and longer causing health and societal disruptions.

“Cities are heating up at twice the global average rate due to rapid urbanization and the urban heat island effect … [they] are bearing the brunt, as congestion, the built environment and concentrated energy use trap and amplify temperatures” acknowledged the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres in his Call to Action on extreme heat last year.

To support acceleration of local-level solutions for extreme heat and sustainable cooling, at  2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), The Beat the Heat/Mutirão contra o Calor Extremo Implementation Drive initiative of the COP30 Presidency and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cool Coalition was launched. The Drive contributes to the UN Secretary General’s call to action on extreme heat and helps translate the Global Cooling Pledge into local action by supporting heat assessments, planning, nature-based cooling, sustainable procurement and building code adoption at the subnational level. The drive is inviting national and local governments, as well as technical and financial partners, to join this collective effort to advance sustainable and resilient urban cooling. There are already over 200 cities (including all cities participating in this panel today) joined the “Beat the Heat” and over 80 partner organizations, including UN-Habitat, the World Resource Institute, the Global Cities Hub (that is organizing this side event) and many others.

This UNEA-7 side event, organized by the Global Cities Hub in cooperation with UNEP, directly aligns with the Call for Action of the SG, the COP30 initiative and the UNEA-7 theme: “Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet.” While cooling has become essential for urban adaptation, the integration of local and regional governments (LRGs) into international governance and implementation mechanisms remains limited. This session will bridge that gap, showcasing how, using the example of the “Beat the Heat Implementation Drive”, local actors are already delivering solutions on the ground and why they must be fully included in UNEA-led processes.

Objectives

• Provide an update on the launch of the Beat the Heat/Mutirão contra o Calor Extremo Implementation Drive at COP30 (Belem, 11 November 2025)
• Showcase innovative practices and existing solutions at national, subnational and local levels supporting the “Beat the Heat”, initiatives, including through international cooperation.
• Bridge the gap between national frameworks and local delivery mechanisms
• Elevate the role of LRGs in climate adaptation through cooling/building solutions.
• Explore future steps in relation to stakeholders’ formal engagement.

Agenda

13:15-13:40
High-level Opening
Moderator: Ms. Mirey Atallah, Chief, Adaptation and Resilience Branch, Climate Change Division, UNEP
H.E. Mr. Joel Arumonyang, Principal Secretary, State Department for Public Works, Kenya
H.E. Mr. Subutay Yüksel, Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the United Nations in Nairobi
Ms. Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director, UN-Habitat
Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme

13:40-13:45
Group photo

13:45- 14:30
High-level discussion on the role of local and regional governments in Beat the Heat Implementation Drive  
Moderator: Ms. Kamelia Kemileva, Co-Director, Global Cities Hub
Mr. Pedro Mariano Martins Pontes, General Coordinator for Bilateral / Plurilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Brazil
Mr. James Njoroge Muchiri, Deputy Governor, Nairobi City County, Kenya
Mr. Ali Nazar, Mayor, Addu City, Maldives
Mr. Balaksher Qazi, Mayor, City of Turbat, Pakistan
Ms. Meghan Hertel, Deputy Secretary, Biodiversity & Habitat, California Natural Resources Agency
Mr. Benoit Herzbrun, Deputy General Delegate / Environment, City of Paris, France
Mr. Yunus Arikan, Director of Global Advocacy, ICLEI

13:30-14:45
Closing
Ms. Kamelia Kemileva, Co-Director, Global Cities Hub
Mr. Martin Krause, Director, Climate Change Division, UNEP

Resources

• Save-the-date
• Social media card
• Recording