Cities, regions and other subnational public sector actors play a critical role in climate action. Bringing them into the COP process can increase ambition and facilitate implementation.

Subnational governments are often on the front lines of climate action. Many have their own climate plans, coalitions and policy tools. Engaging them through structured platforms and targeted outreach helps ground the COP in local realities and makes the process feel more inclusive and responsive. Bringing in subnational actors also provides a strategic opportunity to bridge the gap between global ambition and national implementation. 

Subnational governments shape negotiations in two ways. First, they influence national government positions in the negotiations. Second, they are responsible for implementing large parts of the agreed outcomes.

It helps to internally assign clear roles and responsibilities for dealing with different levels of government. Find a stakeholder mapping tool that works for you to manage all your stakeholders. Some presidencies have mapped their stakeholders according to their impact and influence. This in turn informed how they structured communication with them.

Once you have a clear overview of your stakeholders, including those across subnational governments, you can draw on publicly available information and conversations with them to map out what specific initiatives they’re already working on. 

That allows you to connect them with your own initiatives. It can also help you join the dots between different parts of government or projects that could benefit from closer collaboration. 

Presidencies have worked with city networks and regional alliances to showcase their leadership and amplify good practice. Some have hosted subnational summits or included local government representatives in major political events to elevate their contributions. Others have used high-level champions or side events to highlight regional action.

Questions to consider:

• Have you identified opportunities to work with subnational actors throughout the year?

• Are you supporting or hosting any events that highlight regional leadership?

• How are you linking subnational contributions to the overall COP narrative?

Business and civil society actors can amplify ambition and support delivery. A thoughtful engagement strategy helps channel their energy into the process in a way that adds value.

While it’s only parties that get a seat at the negotiation table, non-party stakeholders are an essential part of the COP landscape. 

The private sector and civil society bring influence, resources, scrutiny and practical experience. When engaged well, they can support the presidency’s priorities, help raise ambition and accelerate implementation. 

Successful presidencies have approached non-party stakeholder engagement with clear intent. They have mapped out priority actors and invited their input within defined spaces such as roundtables, stakeholder dialogues, ministerial consultations or focused events in the green zone. 

These spaces work best when stakeholders understand how their engagement links to the process, and what is expected of them. 

The upcoming Presidency appoints a high-level climate champion to work alongside the one appointed by the previous Presidency to encourage voluntary efforts, initiatives and coalitions from the private sector and civil society. They act as a bridge between non-state actors and national governments. Use their convening power and connections to build those bridges and encourage collaborative action.

Showcasing climate action by both the private sector and civil society is also a way for you to connect the two. When you engage your private sector and civil society stakeholders early on, you create opportunities for them to connect to each other and for smaller entities to connect to larger ones. Those connections may be exactly what’s needed to scale a project or coordinate important work.

Effective presidencies can use all the avenues above to align national governments with non-state actors to accelerate delivery. By doing so, they reinforce the idea that multilateral climate diplomacy is connected to real-world change.

Questions to consider:

• Have you clearly defined which stakeholder groups you want to engage, and what you want from that engagement?

• Are you offering structured formats — such as roundtables, briefings or open consultations — for ongoing dialogue with and between sectors throughout the year?

• Do you have a plan for which private sector and civil society initiatives or announcements you want to highlight and how you will follow up on them after the COP?

The media will define the story of your COP for most of the world. A strong and credible communication strategy helps you lead that story rather than chasing it.

Although the attendance list has become longer over the years, the vast majority of the world experiences a COP through the press, social media and television. That makes clear, consistent messaging critical. 

Presidencies benefit from setting a media strategy so you can shape expectations early, highlight action clearly and be ready to respond during intense media scrutiny. The media strategy is closely linked to the narrative you want to create.   

Presidencies’ media and communications teams vary in size and strength, and so do the stories they focus on. 

The UAE, for example, had a communications team at COP28 that put effort into delivering frequent announcements. At COP26 in Glasgow, which had been postponed due to COVID, the British communications team focused not just on the negotiation outcomes but on the multilateral process itself, emphasising how the global community was coming together to find solutions.

Well-planned communication strategies can help drive momentum, showcasing not just the negotiation outcomes but broader climate action. 

On the flipside, too many messages without follow-up can cause confusion and introduce risks of actual or perceived greenwashing. 

Presidencies and their communications teams have to balance getting their messages across while maintaining credibility. Ultimately, the communication strategy is there to serve the negotiation process. 

A strong media strategy aligns public messaging with real outcomes. It prioritises clarity, avoids overload for media consumers and prepares the presidency to engage confidently with the media even in challenging moments.

Questions to consider:

• What story do you want the world to associate with your Presidency?

• How will you communicate actions credibly, not just visibly?

• Have you planned clear media strategies for major milestones and risks?

No COP stands alone. Working with past and future presidencies helps build continuity between each COP event, avoid duplication and support long-term progress.

Successful presidencies see themselves as part of a relay. They learn from previous hosts, take the baton for a year before it passes it on to the next Presidency.

Good collaboration between presidencies can create momentum that continues well beyond their own term. These collaborations can take different shapes. 

The UAE (COP28), Azerbaijan (COP29) and Brazil (COP30) formed a troika (i.e. a group of three) to build continuity and coherence, and sustain momentum between their respective COPs. 

In 2022, the UN Resident Coordinator System supported Egypt’s COP27 Presidency by bringing together expertise from across the UN to help the Presidency achieve its objectives.

Ahead of COP30, Brazil invited all Presidencies from COP21 to COP29 to form a Circle of Presidencies to advise on the political process and implementation. The Circle of Presidencies is complemented by a Circle of Indigenous Leadership to help integrate traditional knowledge.

Building trust across presidencies strengthens the process and reassures parties that leadership is stable and focused beyond any one COP.

A collaborative Presidency recognises that climate diplomacy is a shared responsibility. This approach not only improves alignment, but also makes it easier for negotiators and stakeholders to build on past outcomes and prepare for what comes next.

Questions to consider:

• Have you built regular coordination with the presidencies before and after you?

• What specific initiatives can you start or continue that allow you to sustain the momentum and reinforce the key messages of other presidencies?

• How will you support a smooth handover to help the next Presidency build on your work?

Your Presidency can build a legacy in the UNFCCC as well as in your national or regional context. This requires cooperation, credible leadership and practical delivery.

You will leave a mark on the UNFCCC process, whether your Presidency secures a landmark agreement or does the groundwork that makes it possible in the future. You receive the baton from the previous Presidency, take it as far as you can and hand it to the next one. 

When you take on the Presidency, you don’t just take responsibility for guiding your COP to good negotiation outcomes. You take responsibility for building on the culture, purpose and spirit of a unique multilateral process.

Legacy also extends beyond COP. Hosting can strengthen domestic climate governance, raise public awareness and build new alliances at home and abroad. For example, back-to-back COPs in the MENA region (COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the UAE) provided a platform for regional leadership and capacity-building. 

Being deliberate about the impact you want to leave can help you lead more strategically throughout the year. Make sure you define legacy goals early and check in regularly as your presidency unfolds. 

These goals may cover global outcomes, institutional improvements or national priorities. They can include things like improving the climate literacy of all public servants, raising the profile of climate as a policy area, mobilising finance or strengthening your regional or international soft power.

By definition, building a legacy means that the momentum you build throughout your COP year doesn’t end when the final negotiations end. Rather, the COP can be a way to form lasting partnerships, kickstart new initiatives and align actions across different levels of government.

Questions to consider:

• What do you want your presidency to be remembered for?

• Are you leading in a way that others trust and respect?

• How can you use the COP to leave a lasting impact at home and internationally?

The work does not end with the closing plenary. It’s when delivery begins. Supporting implementation and continuity across presidencies helps turn negotiated outcomes into implemented action.

A successful COP needs follow-through. Many decisions require further work by technical bodies, finance institutions or political groups. Supporting implementation shows that a Presidency is serious about results.

This may include helping establish working groups, securing funding, supporting political champions, or ensuring technical teams are resourced for next steps. It also means staying engaged after the COP ends, supporting the incoming Presidency where needed, and remaining a trusted partner in multilateral climate diplomacy.

The COP process has delivered a lot of international initiatives and multilateral agreements. A big part of the work now consists of operationalising those initiatives and implementing the agreements. 

The Brazilian COP30 Presidency published an open letter in which they described the upcoming period as the “post-negotiation phase” of the UNFCCC process. The message is that it’s time to focus on effectively implementing and delivering on the initiatives and agreements that already exist.

Follow-through is also about practicalities. Leaving behind documentation, tools and advice for future teams helps build a stronger institutional memory and consistency. Presidencies that stay involved in implementation not only support progress but also reinforce the credibility of the process itself.

Questions to consider:

• Have you identified where follow-up will be needed after the COP?

• How can you help create the conditions for successful implementation of existing initiatives?

• Are you leaving behind the tools and relationships your successors will need?

In order of appearance. 

1. UNclimatechange, Flickr (2023) December 12

2. UNclimatechange, Flickr (2023) December 11 

3. UNclimatechange, Flicker (2025) Climate Week-26

All under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.