On COP31’s Resilient Cities and Built Environment thematic day, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) marked a new step in connecting city-led climate action with industrial transformation by signing a Joint Declaration with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) to strengthen cooperation on urban decarbonization, clean energy innovation and resilient urban transitions.
The Joint Declaration is building on the collaboration between the Urban Transitions Mission (UTM) and UNIDO. UNIDO connects energy, infrastructure, water, materials and other urban–industrial systems, bringing policy, institutional capacity, finance, innovation and partnerships together to support implementation.
In a fireside discussion at COP31, GCoM Co-Managing Directors Andy Deacon, co-lead of UTM, and Giorgia Rambelli explored what it takes to turn shared ambitions into practical projects: stronger national–local coordination, city–business partnerships and a clearer pathway from project preparation to finance.
The goal of the Joint Declaration is to strengthen resilience, while creating opportunities for local businesses, skills and jobs, leveraging the Urban Transitions Mission as a critical catalyst and accelerator for the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) to scale tested urban decarbonization frameworks across its cohort of 150 cities in 54 countries, by advancing collaborative initiatives at the nexus of industry and cities.
