Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Coalition
Closing Event, held online 31 March 2026
Opening remarks from the Commonwealth Secretary General Hon Shirley Botchwey
"Thank you. Chair, Excellencies, distinguished partners, colleagues and friends. It is a pleasure to join you at this important moment for the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Coalition. What began as a shared commitment has now become something more tangible a coalition in motion, moving from declaration to delivery, from intent to implementation. And that matters. Because across our Commonwealth, the story of this century will increasingly be written in our cities. By 2050, almost half of the global increase in urban population, some 2.5 billion people, will live in Commonwealth towns and cities. Cities where opportunity is created, but also where inequality can deepen. Cities where innovation thrives, but where vulnerability to climate shocks is most acute. Cities that generate the majority of our economic output, around 70% of GDP, yet where informality in housing, transport and employment remains a daily reality for many. Cities that hold the promise of sustainable growth, but only if we plan, if we finance and govern them wisely.
This is the challenge before us, and it is why I welcome this coalition and our partnership so strongly, because it reflects a simple but powerful truth. No single institution, no single level of government, no single sector can solve challenges of this scale alone. Colleagues, the global system itself is under strain. Multilateralism is being tested. Trust is fragmented. And yet the pressures we face climate change, rapid urbanization, economic inequality are becoming more interconnected and not less. In such a world, the answer cannot be fragmentation. It must be partnership. That is the Commonwealth's enduring choice and our strategic advantage.
We are a family of fifty-six. We are diverse in geography and circumstance. But we are united by shared values and a commitment to work together in practical, purposeful ways. And this coalition embodies that approach. It builds directly on the Commonwealth Declaration on Sustainable Urbanization, which was adopted by our leaders in Kigali and reaffirmed in Samoa recognition that sustainable and inclusive urban development is now central to our shared future. It also aligns closely with our strategic plan, particularly our focus on environmental resilience, economic resilience, and resilient societies delivered through stronger partnerships and coalitions for action.
Because strategies alone do not change lives. Delivery changes lives. So I want to commend the progress you have made. Through your action groups on housing, integrated planning and urban finance, and the cross-cutting work on skills, you are generating something of real value ideas that lead to action, commitments that are developed, tested and proven in practice. From the India multi-level governance dialogue to your growing body of case studies and policy insights, you are showing how collaboration across disciplines and across borders can translate high-level ambition
into practical solutions for member states. And that is precisely what we need more of across the Commonwealth system.
But let us also be clear. This is only the beginning, because the scale and complexity of the urban challenge ahead is immense. Climate impacts are intensifying in our cities flooding, heat stress, water scarcity, coastal erosion. At the same time, cities are not only vulnerable, they are also major contributors to emissions and therefore central to the transition to low carbon development. And financing for sustainable urban development remains fragmented, insufficient, and too often inaccessible.
Critically, your work has highlighted something we must now act on that finance, land, housing, planning systems and capacity are deeply interconnected and must be addressed together, not in isolation. So the question before us is not whether we act. It is whether we act at the scale, speed and coordination that is required.
This is where this coalition has a critical role to play. First, by strengthening multi-level governance. Second, by deepening multi-stakeholder collaboration. And third, by focusing on implementation pathways. How do we expand fiscal space and unlock sustainable urban finance? How do we address the complexity of land tenure to enable inclusive housing? How do we build the skills required for green construction, resilient infrastructure and integrated planning? These are the questions that must now define your next phase.
At the Secretariat, we are committed to being an active partner in this work. Whether through strengthening links to the Living Lands Charter, supporting integrated approaches to land, water and urban resilience, advancing green skills, green jobs and entrepreneurship, or using our convening power to ensure that your work informs ministerial processes and the road to CHOGM in Antigua and Barbuda. And I particularly welcome the opportunity to explore how this model of collaboration could evolve further, including through more formal ministerial engagement and coalitions for delivery, building on the success of approaches such as the Blue Charter Action Groups.
Because if this coalition succeeds, it will not only deliver better urban outcomes it will demonstrate something larger: that the Commonwealth can translate shared values into practical, scalable solutions for the defining challenges of our time. Friends, we often speak of cities as engines of growth. But they are also fundamentally places of people. Places where human dignity must be protected, where opportunity must be expanded, and where resilience must be built not just for economies, but for communities. That is the standard we must hold ourselves to.
So as you look ahead, I encourage you to be ambitious. I encourage you to deepen your collaboration and also to sharpen your focus on delivery and ensure that what you build together here can be scaled across our Commonwealth, reaching those who need it most. Because in a world of rising complexity and uncertainty, practical cooperation is not just desirable, it is essential. And through initiatives like this, the Commonwealth shows that it is not only relevant, it is also ready to lead. I thank you."