If you closely read the 20-page
draft
decision on the Clean Development Mechanism prepared at
COP16 in Cancun, you will see a tiny reference to the
possibility of including ``city-wide programs’’.Those few words
represent an enormous effort: mainly championed by Amman, Jordan, with support
from the World
Bank, the European Union, UN-HABITAT, C40 Cities, ICLEI, United Cities and
Local Government(UCLG) and
others.
There is reason to be excited.
Cities are the every-day face of civilization, the rough and tumble, action
oriented arm of government: The ones you call when you need to get things done.
And in Cancun they got the call. 
Making sense of the COP, the ‘Conference of the Parties’ (cities would call it a meeting, ‘fiesta’ if you added beer and a beach) is a full time job. Thousands of people jet across the planet arguing over commas and clauses while climate change waits for true political will. But that political will does not come from countries at a COP. No, first and foremost it needs to be understood, nurtured, and acted-upon in cities. Countries get their marching orders mainly from urban residents, not the other way round.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been working that way.
