Opinions, ideas and knowledge you can apply to local and regional sustainable development.

Explore this blog to learn from local leaders, municipal staff and experts from around the world.

Cities and regions at UN’s Environment Assembly: Safeguarding environmental integrity of global sustainability through multilevel action

At the recent sixth United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6) in Nairobi, resolutions shaped the strategic direction of global environmental policy through multilateral actions. How do cities and regions engage in this global process? ICLEI, as co-focal point of the Local Authorities Major Group (LAMG), ensures representation of subnational governments in UNEA’s negotiation rooms. * This 

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World Water Day calls for building peaceful, inclusive futures

Gender-inclusive, multilevel, and cross-boundary water governance approaches are ever more crucial for achieving peace and safety. Such approaches can improve access to safe sanitation and water, prepare for future shocks and threats, and tackle present-day social inequities, especially impacting women. *This blog was written by Paul Currie, Director of Urban Systems Unit, and Luka Dreyer, 

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São Paulo’s Green Gift

The City of São Paulo has recently declared the acquisition of 32 private green areas as a public utility, equivalent to the size of Paris or 15,500 football fields. With this significant addition, the megalopolis will total 26% of its territory under environmental protection. “Expanding these preservation areas is one of the greatest gifts we 

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What is the progress on the Global Plastic Treaty and how it could impact subnational governments

2023 has been a year of tremendous progress for Circular Development, but we have a lot more work that needs to be accelerated as 2030 is not far away. At the same time, we need to ensure that all gains made towards making our cities, provinces, and states, circular and sustainable are not lost. ICLEI’s Circular 

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Can you build an investment-ready climate project?

How can we build capacity for local and regional officials to access diverse funding sources for climate adaptation and mitigation projects? Between 13-16 February, UrbanShift hosted the Marrakech City Academy for Africa in Morocco, engaging nearly 80 participants from 25 cities across seven countries in intensive learning on Climate Finance and Urban Biodiversity. ICLEI led 

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Insuring our future: Strengthening disaster resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean

In November 2023, the Urban Infrastructure Insurance Facility (UIIF) Project hosted its first in-person event in San José, Costa Rica. The gathering brought together representatives from various Latin American and Caribbean cities and ICLEI, united by a common goal: To enhance their understanding and management of natural disasters. The dialogue was a melting pot of 

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Fair public financing: German cities push forward with attempts to make subsidy schemes more equitable

This piece was written by Olga Horn, Senior Officer, ICLEI World Secretariat & Daniel Botha, Expert Justice, Equity and Democracy, ICLEI European Secretariat  To expedite the renewable energy transition and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many cities worldwide provide funding programs to assist residents – for instance in insulating their buildings or installing photovoltaics (PV) on 

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The City of São Paulo is on the move: Driving sustainable public transport

A wave of sustainable mobility is reshaping urban public transport in Brazil, led by the City of São Paulo’s pioneering eco-mobility solutions, boasting the largest fleet of electric buses in Latin America. With ambitious goals to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2028, explore how this 12 million-people megacity is paving the way for a 

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Synchronize your calendar with our pick of urban sustainable development events

Keep important sustainability events right in your own calendar! You can subscribe to a global events list that highlights political events (such as UNFCCC meetings), webinars (from our Advocacy team and more), and conferences that contribute to the world of sustainable urban development, and synchronizes directly with the calendar client you already use. This list 

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CityFood in 2024: What’s cooking?

This piece was written by the ICLEI CityFood team. 2023 marked another big step to further consolidate food as a game changer, its interdependence with biodiversity, climate and health, and the need to address these systemically to achieve progress. With ten years on the ground, ICLEI’s CityFood is one of the oldest urban food programmes 

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