Mediterranean Climate Action Partnership (MCAP) Regions Lead Action & Implementation During COP30

November 4, 2025 | Belem, Brazil — 

The Mediterranean Climate Action Partnership (MCAP) launched in 2023 at COP28 in Dubai, bringing together in a formal partnership to address shared climate challenges of foster subnational government collaboration around critical challenges faced in mediterranean climates, particularly extreme heat, wildfires, and drought. 

At COP29, leaders representing 16 subnational governments for regions with Mediterranean climate types came together under MCAP to issue a joint statement, calling upon the UNFCCC and COP leaders to recognize the importance of Mediterranean bioregions. The MCAP member regions jointly advocated for resources and programs to be directed to regions on the forefront of climate changes to address these challenges and called for bold action to limit global warming to 1.5°C. MCAP members also committed to enhance cooperation among subnational governments with Mediterranean climates and doubled down on their work to show the singularity of the impacts of climate change and address shared climate challenges.

Since COP29, MCAP has translated that call to action into tangible implementation. MCAP’s Secretariat, staffed by Resilient Cities Catalyst, launched the Mini Sprints initiative to spur acceleration and collaboration by leveraging the expertise and knowledge of MCAP member regions. Through this effort, MCAP unlocked $150,000 in philanthropic funds to help advance three projects across six partner regions to address extreme heat, wildfire, and drought. Early assessments of the past five months of project work indicate this model is highly attractive to climate philanthropy, as the seed funds act as catalytic capital to de-risk innovation, forge essential public-private collaboration, and align policy priorities. This creates a proven, scalable framework that significantly lowers the barrier for attracting larger-scale government and private-sector climate finance.

MCAP is developing a first of its kind Action Index, compiling actions being undertaken to build resilience to drought, wildfire, and extreme heat, across its member regions. The Index, which will be completed in 2026, provides the first comparative snapshot of real actions being implemented across five continents, highlighting where progress is being made, what’s working, and lessons that can be shared. It will demonstrate subnational leadership on climate adaptation and create a foundation for faster, evidence-based action in regions facing some of the world’s most severe climate pressures. The index, which will be completed in 2026, creates an evolving evidence base of subnational climate resilience to better channel resources, encourage implementation, and bring international attention to Mediterranean bioregional challenges, and considers a set of key strategies and their associated action and implementation plans. 

Member regions have also demonstrated significant leadership through financial investment in advancing climate action. In 2025, the MCAP member regions of Catalonia, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Santiago de Chile, and Western Cape contributed more than $225,500 to the Partnership, signaling the importance of subnational climate action and investment in collaboration to address shared climate challenges for Mediterranean bioregions, like wildfire, drought, and extreme heat. In June 2025, member regions also voted to formalize membership contributions including dues and other supports into the MCAP charter, signaling not only commitment, but financial investment in the Partnership. To date, members have already committed to more than $100,000 in contributions for 2026. Continued discussions with member regions are underway, and the Secretariat anticipates as much as $150,000 from member regions in 2026. Since its inception, MCAP has directed over $1.8 million to support the Partnership’s goal to bring global attention to Mediterranean bioregions, capacitate subnational governments in driving climate adaptation, and facilitate shared learnings across leaders in this space to catalyze implementation.

Please join us at side events to learn more about this work date, our plans for 2026, and MCAP member government leadership in building climate resilience. On Tuesday, November 11 from 16:00-17:00 (local time) will host “From Droughts to Heatwaves to Wildfires: Mediterranean Regions Teaming Up for Climate Resilience” in the Spanish Pavilion (Blue zone). This event will demonstrate how interregional cooperation transforms local experiences into scalable solutions for Mediterranean climate resilience and will highlight how solutions can be transposed between regions for effective adaptation to rapidly increasing climate change impacts, and will highlight the critical role subnational governments play in adaptation and resilience. It will also highlight the pivotal, but complex role subnational governments play in climate action. 

On Tuesday, November 18 MCAP along with Regions4 and the Government of Catalonia will host an official Side Event (Room 5 UNFCCC, (Blue zone)” from 13:15-14:45 (local time), “Innovative Approaches to Driving Climate Action: Subnational Leadership & Bioregional Collaboration in Climate Adaptation and Resilience.” This event explores bioregional approaches to climate change, which have increasingly been formalized as an approach to collaboration, exchanging knowledge, and accelerating adaptation globally for areas that face similar challenges due to their shared environmental characteristics and will highlight regional voices in global climate forums.

Media Contact:
MCAP Secretariat
secretariat@medclimate.org