PIB TrackerGlobal South cities send a Delhi Declaration to COP31
The second ARISE Cities Forum, convened by ICLEI South Asia and NIUA with the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry's support, closed with a ten-point Delhi Declaration asking that cities be recognised in climate negotiations ahead of COP31 in Antalya - a statement by cities and networks, not India's negotiating position.
What happened
- The ARISE Cities Forum 2026, the forum's second edition, met at the India Habitat Centre on 27-28 October, organised by ICLEI South Asia with NIUA and supported by MoHUA, with 200-plus participants from 50+ cities in 18+ countries.
- It adopted the Delhi Declaration on Local Action for Global Climate Goals 2026, which positions cities as contributors to UNFCCC negotiations through the LGMA constituency.
- Its ten commitments include adaptation and synergies across conventions, circularity, an energy-transition outcome that recognises subnational delivery on a 1.5 degree pathway, just transitions, multilevel climate finance and independent science and data.
- The Declaration was handed to ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin for COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye; UNESCAP urged localising NDCs so that finance reaches cities and mayors sit where national commitments are made.
- It frames 2026 as a 'Triple COP' year - climate, biodiversity and land; a Delhi Biodiversity Map by ICLEI South Asia was launched at the close.
For Prelims
- COP31: the UNFCCC's 31st Conference of the Parties, in Antalya, Türkiye, with the leaders' summit on 11-12 November 2026. Under the deal struck at COP30 in Belém, Türkiye hosts and holds the presidency while Australia leads the negotiations - an unusual split of roles.
- Triple COP year: 2026 has the UNCCD COP17 (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 17-28 August), the CBD COP17 (Yerevan, Armenia, October) and the UNFCCC COP31 (Antalya) - the three Rio conventions on land, biodiversity and climate.
- ICLEI: founded in September 1990 at a UN-hosted gathering in New York as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, now ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, a global network of local governments. The Declaration echoes the UNFCCC's LGMA (Local Government and Municipal Administration) constituency.
- NIUA: the National Institute of Urban Affairs, the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry's think-tank on urban policy and research, co-organiser of the Forum with ICLEI South Asia.
- NDCs and localisation: nationally determined contributions are each Party's climate pledges under the Paris Agreement. Localising them means translating national targets into city climate action plans - the gap between national commitment and local implementation that UNESCAP highlighted.
- 1.5 degree pathway: the Paris Agreement aims to hold warming well below 2 degrees C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. The Declaration's phrase 'return to the 1.5 degree pathway' concedes that current pledges put the world off it.
- Multilevel governance: climate action shared among national, State and city governments. The Declaration's asks - multilevel climate finance and a 'systematic joint space' for national and local action - are about giving cities a formal role in a treaty process that only national governments sign.
- Where India's cities stand: urban India runs climate-relevant programmes through national missions - the Delhi Mayor cited electric buses, public transport and air-quality pilots with ICLEI. The Forum is a city-network event; India's own COP31 position is set by the Environment Ministry.
For UPSC: ARISE Cities Forum 2026 (ICLEI South Asia, NIUA, MoHUA): Delhi Declaration, 10 commitments, for COP31 Antalya (Türkiye hosts, Australia leads negotiations).
What it is NOT: The Declaration binds no government: it is adopted by a city network's forum, and the release does not say which cities or how many signed it, or whether India's Government endorses it. Its ten commitments carry no targets, figures or deadlines, and nothing says how multilevel climate finance would be organised or who would pay. The release gives no data on Indian cities' own emissions or climate plans, so it cannot show how far local action already goes.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS2.20 · GS3.14 · Linkage L1
Anchor
Climate treaties are signed by national governments, but much of the action - transport, buildings, waste, heat - happens in cities. The Delhi Declaration is an attempt by Global South cities to get a seat at COP31 rather than wait for national targets to reach them.
Substantiation (data)
The second ARISE Cities Forum, 27-28 October 2026, brought more than 200 participants from 50-plus cities in 18-plus countries; its ten-point Declaration was handed to ICLEI for COP31 in Antalya, in a year that also has the CBD and UNCCD COPs.
Position
Localising NDCs is where pledges become projects, and cities in the Global South need finance and authority to act. A coordinated urban voice from the South balances the influence of richer cities' networks in climate diplomacy.
Counterpoint
Declarations without numbers are easy to adopt and hard to hold anyone to. Indian cities depend on State and Union funds, have limited fiscal powers, and the forum's demands for direct climate finance may sit uneasily with India's own position that finance obligations rest with developed countries.
Way forward
Pair the Declaration with city climate action plans that have measurable targets; strengthen municipal finances so cities can borrow for climate projects; and feed city data into India's NDC reporting so local action counts in the national ledger.
Conclusion
COP31's outcome will be negotiated by states, but delivered largely in cities. The Delhi Declaration is a reminder that the gap between those two levels is where climate goals are lost or met.
Deploys into: Urban climate governance · Multilevel governance and NDCs · Global South in climate diplomacy · The Rio conventions
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs · 2026-10-29 · PRID 2330002 · PIB source ↗