Global Covenant of Mayors
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) is an international alliance of cities and local governments with a shared long-term vision of promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to an inclusive, just, low emission, resilient society.
The initiative is jointly funded by the European Union and Bloomberg Philanthropies and supported through a global network of partners, including C40, ICLEI, UCLG, Eurocities, Energy Cities and Climate Alliance. There are currently over 160 GCoM member cities in the U.S., all of which have made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
GCoM works in the United States with partners such as the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), ICLEI USA, C40 and others to build a program to help U.S. cities reduce GHG emissions and become more resilient to climate change. One key strategic objective of the project's national stakeholders is to foster more regional Climate Action Plans, bringing together local governments and regional organizations to tackle the issues.
In response to this demand, the Regional and Metro-scale Climate Leaders was developed as an initiative of GCoM USA, funded by the European Union through its International Urban Cooperation (IUC) program. Mid-America Regional Council was selected as one of four metropolitan regions committed to joining GCoM and showing leadership regarding climate change.