Almost at its adoption, the Paris Agreement has been criticized for failing to go far enough in ambitious commitments. Now it seems clear many countries are not on track to meet even the modest targets set in 2015. Combined with the damaging withdrawal of the US, and the message it sent about national populism over international cooperation, there are lingering concerns about global climate cooperation.

One bright spot has been the willingness of cities across the globe, including in otherwise hesitant countries, to take the lead on climate action and various related issues such as migration. In a way, this is not surprising. Many regions in the world are facing increased numbers of both internally and internationally displaced people due to a variety of drivers. Evaluating 10 years of internal displacement data from 2009 to 2019, UNHCR noted that 2 out of 3 internally displaced persons they encountered were in urban or semi-urban areas.