The Conference of the Parties (COP) under the UNFCCC is a key forum for global climate action, combining high-level negotiations with participation from non-state actors. Subnational governments engage through paradiplomacy, using side events and collaborations to advocate for stronger climate policies and influence policy results. The COP is a crucial global forum for addressing climate change, bringing together nearly 200 nations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since its inception in 1995, COP has served as a platform for countries to assess progress, share strategies, and negotiate commitments to reduce emissions and combat climate change. COP functions through a combination of high-level plenaries, where overarching decisions are debated and adopted, technical negotiations in smaller working groups, and where delegates craft detailed final agreements.
As the climate crisis deepens, COPs have become a governance stage, also serving as a hub for non-state actors participating in side events, exhibitions, and informal consultations. Increasingly, the international activities of subnational governments (i.e., regional and local governments) – conceptualized as paradiplomacy – have emerged as vital to these discussions. By participating in COPs, they put forward concrete paradiplomacy actions to influence global (climate) policy outcomes.
A Conceptual Framework of Analysis
Although subnational actors are not part of formal COP negotiations, they still play an important role in influencing global climate policies by promoting and demanding more substantial climate commitments (i.e., advocacy). To explain how such reality occurs, we highlight the specific paradiplomacy instruments (i.e., public policy tools to engage in international activities) through which regions and cities participate in global forums like climate COPs. According to recent literature, subnational actors may represent themselves in such international gatherings via intra-state/extra-state routes. For clarity, intra-state routes involve being represented within the federal or central government’s delegation at the COP. In contrast, extra-state routes refer to subnational governments autonomously sending their delegation to participate in non-official side events and strategic meetings, as will be further explained.
Second, by engaging in international activities via different paradiplomacy strategies, either intra-state or extra-state routes, regional and local entities intend to raise awareness of climate issues and showcase their local initiatives via non-official interactions throughout the COP to increase their influence. These paradiplomacy interactions take place in two main ways: (1) collectively, by engaging in networks with other regions, cities, and organizations, which helps amplify their voices and advocate for more substantial climate commitments, and (2) individually, by (2.1.) engaging within their central government’s delegation or by (2.2.) autonomously engaging with other stakeholders in the COP process to highlighting their own interests either. Collectively, subnational governments participate in networks’ side events such as workshops, panels, and gatherings to emphasize their collective efforts. Individually, they collaborate with their national state to align policies and influence the national positioning during negotiation or autonomously engage in strategic meetings with counterparts like international organizations, civil society groups, and NGOs, as well as dialogues with other cities and regions to develop shared climate strategies and future partnerships.
By bridging paradiplomacy strategies with the type of paradiplomacy interactions, we notice that these are interrelated and define the type of engagement of different subnational governments during COPs. Paradiplomacy instruments—intra-state routes and extra-state routes—are by subnational governments to engage in international activities. These instruments differ in terms of how subnational governments interact within or beyond the framework of their national governments (see Table 1).
Strategies and interaction are interrelated, representing complementary approaches for subnational actors to enhance their influence. Intra-state routes leverage national representation to align interests, while extra-state routes expand their outreach through individual and collaborative efforts. While corresponding to different paradiplomacy and respective modo interactions, these are not exclusive, and regions and cities may adopt different combinations. Together, they highlight the multifaceted ways subnational governments participate in global climate governance.
They do this by raising awareness of climate issues and showcasing their local initiatives via non-official interactions throughout the COP. These paradiplomacy interactions take place in two main ways: (1) collectively, by participating in networks with other regions, cities, and organizations, which helps amplify their voices and advocate for more substantial climate commitments, and (2) individually, by engaging directly with other stakeholders in the COP process to highlight their interests. Collectively, subnational governments participate in networks’ side events such as workshops, panels, and gatherings to emphasize their collective efforts. Individually, they collaborate with their national state to align policies or autonomously engage in strategic meetings with counterparts like international organizations, civil society groups, and NGOs, as well as dialogues with other cities and regions to develop shared climate strategies.
Intra-state routes: Individual Modes of Interactions
When adopting intra-state routes as part of their paradiplomacy strategies, subnational governments act through their inclusion in the federal or national delegation to advocate for their priorities. In these cases, subnational actors participate in the COP process under the umbrella of their national government, using the delegation as a platform to represent their interests and influence global climate discussions.
During COPs, individual interactions under intra-state routes often manifest in strategy meetings and consultations between subnational and national representatives. For instance, subnational actors may meet with federal negotiators to provide updates on local progress, propose regional solutions, or advocate for greater ambition in national climate commitments. Beyond internal meetings, they may also serve as advisors or contributors within the broader national delegation, participating in panels, technical workshops, or policy briefings on behalf of their government. In the case of Canada, for instance, the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario have continuously joined the Canadian delegation from 1992 up to 2021 (as the most up-to-date sources). Similarly, the President of the Zagreb City Assembly participated in COP29 as a speaker focusing on National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and local authorities’ contributions in shaping them. The discussion will emphasize the critical role of cities and regions in addressing local adaptation needs and aligning them with broader national adaptation strategies. The city of Glasgow provides another illustration, the host of COP26, which worked with the Scottish and UK governments to align its urban climate strategies with national energy efficiency targets, evidencing that cities can serve as platforms for advancing national goals in urban contexts.
By embedding themselves in the national delegation, subnational governments leveraging intra-state routes can magnify their influence and ensure that their perspectives shape the overarching climate policies their countries present on the global stage.
Extra-state Routes: Collective and Individual Modes of Interactions
As mentioned, when endorsing extra-state routes as part of their paradiplomacy strategy, subnational entities operate as actors representing their own position. Through their delegation, regions and cities may choose to participate in COP using collective and individual interactions, most of the time taking the opportunity to endorse both modes to increase their chances of influence.
