From Data Infrastructure to Local Climate Action: Lessons from South Africa's Multilevel Climate Governance Hub

Cities produce over 70% og global CO2 emissions yet often lack the governance coordination needed to implement climate action (IPCC, 2023; UN-Habitat, 2022). This proposal examines how South Africa's National Strategic Hub (NSH) strengthens multilevel climate governance by creating a shared national data infrastructure used in 257 municipalities. The NSH integrates diagnostic dashboards, spatial planning tools and the Service Delivery Simulator to align national, provincial and municipal planning while embedding climate risk into infrastructure decisions. By standardising evidence, enabling spatial modelling and institutionalising cross-sector collaboration through open data and the Insight Exchange network, the NSH transforms fragmented data into a coordination instrument for climate action. The session combines a presentation, tool demonstration and peer exchange to identify governance barriers and actionable solutions for translating global climate commitments into local implementation. The NSH offers a replicable model for strengthening multilevel governance, accelerating NDC delivery and improving climate resilience in cities (Bulkeley et al, 2014; OECD, 2022; World Bank, 2021