GCoM announces city-business engagement support package, including support for 50 cities through the City-Business Climate Alliance and a new Business Task Force at Smart City Expo in Barcelona
Recognizing the need for public-private collaboration to deliver on more than 200,000 climate actions reported by its 14,000+ signatories, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) introduces new strategic actions, partnerships and resources to help cities and local governments of all sizes accelerate climate action at speed and scale through stronger business partnerships.
BARCELONA, SPAIN, 4 November 2026 — The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) has announced a 50-city cohort of the City-Business Climate Alliance (CBCA), a pilot Learning Platform, and a Business Task Force as a refreshed and growing offer under development to support city-business mobilization and matchmaking, designed to deepen and accelerate city climate and energy action through stronger partnership with the private sector. The Business Task Force was announced during a dedicated dialogue among cities and senior business leaders, while the CBCA cohort and Learning Platform were shared at a curated two-day workshop – both on the sides of Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The announcements mark the rollout of a comprehensive, new strategic priority by GCoM focused on mobilizing city-business collaboration – including tailored matchmaking, working toward project pipeline alignment, and targeted support designed to convert municipal ambition into viable investment.
The CBCA advances climate action by strengthening collaboration between cities and businesses. The new 50-city cohort represents more than 160 million people across 27 countries in six regions, and includes a combination of small, medium-sized, and larger cities to showcase common, but differentiated approaches to city-business engagement. Co-convened by GCoM and C40 Cities, the CBCA fosters knowledge, capacity, and partnerships among cities, local governments, and businesses to accelerate climate action and grow green economies locally.
The Business Task Force serves as a high-level collaboration platform, convening key industry sectors to discuss market trends, offer practical advice, and help cities explore and adopt new technologies. Moving beyond routine consultation, it tackles the root causes of why public–private partnerships often fail to reach scale.
By bridging the divide between municipal climate goals and private capital and – connecting market leaders, service providers, and innovators with city priorities – the Task Force encourages private partners to engage with cities, expand successful projects and pilots and replicate them across other cities.
“The City-Business Climate Alliance provides accessible, action-oriented, and collaborative knowledge to support city-business partnerships that can accelerate the just and green transition. Together, cities and businesses can help lower household energy costs, reduce emissions and build more resilient communities. While local governments directly control some 4% of emissions within their boundaries, businesses, households and other levels of government influence much of the remainder,” said Andy Deacon, Co-Managing Director of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM).
“Mobilizing actionable climate solutions at scale increasingly requires close alignment between city leadership and the private sector. For cities, this collaboration accelerates delivery on climate goals; for businesses, it represents a major market opportunity to deploy capital, unlock urban project pipelines, and scale investment-ready solutions. By helping to bridge the gap between project preparation and commercial investment, the Business Task Force serves as a global platform where industry leaders can candidly address commercial risk, evaluate investment potential, and turn urban climate priorities into high-impact ventures.” said Giorgia Rambelli, Co-Managing Director of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM).
Practical Resources to Scale City–Business Climate Collaboration
Alongside its refreshed cohort, the CBCA is also piloting a Learning Platform that combines practical guidance, partnership models, case studies, and implementation tools to help local governments strengthen collaboration with businesses, deliver on climate commitments and advance the green economy.
Designed by cities, for cities as an evolving information hub, the platform allows local governments to showcase successful initiatives and identify solutions that can be adapted and replicated in their own communities alongside businesses.
“Climate action only works if companies are part of it, so joining the CBCA network is a chance to learn from cities that already build with business. For a regional government like ours, it is a place to compare what works, test new ideas and bring back tools that companies in the Santiago region can use. We are also ready to share what we have started with small and medium-sized businesses.” said Magdalena Hernández, Head of the Business and Industry Development Department, Metropolitan Regional Government of Santiago
CBCA participating cities and local governments include 12 from European Union and Western Europe (Cluj-Napoca, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Manchester, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm and Warsaw) 2 from Easter Europe & Central Asia (Yerevan and Mykolaiv); 13 from North America (Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Montréal, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, DC); 8 from Latin America (Buenos Aires, Francisco Morato, Renca, Salvador, Santiago, São João de Meriti, São Paulo and Zapopan); 3 from Southeast Asia (Cebu City, Quezon City and Semarang); 3 Oceania (Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney); 5 from Sub Saharan Africa (Cape Town, Durban/eThekwini, Johannesburg, Lagos and Tshwane); 1 from the Middle East and North Africa (Tel Aviv); and 3 from South Asia: (Ahmedabad, Karachi and Mumbai).
Through the CBCA and the Business Task Force, the GCoM alliance is introducing opportunities to deepen engagement among municipal leaders, sustainability experts, private sector innovators, and economic development teams to accelerate climate action, mobilize green investment, and strengthen resilient, sustainable local economies.
“Joining the City-Business Climate Alliance empowers Quezon City to scale up local climate solutions by deepening our collaboration with the business community. By embedding circular economy practices into local enterprise support and fostering climate-resilient MSMEs, we are driving sustainable economic growth while building a greener, more resilient city for all.” said Mona Celine Marie V. Yap Head, Small Business and Cooperatives Development and Promotions Office Quezon City