The ICLEI World Congress 2018 brought new energy and momentum to sustainable urban development. ICLEI and partners announced new initiatives and strengthened partnership to kick start implementation of the ICLEI Montréal Commitment and Strategic Vision.

Here are some of the key announcements from the ICLEI World Congress 2018 to watch:

• The UN Environment Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative and ICLEI launched the Insurance Industry Development Goals for Cities to set the global agenda for insurance and risk management and cities. These goals represent a major opportunity for the insurance industry to work with local governments around the world to manage risk up front and ahead of disasters.
• ICLEI, The Nature Conservancy and IUCN launched CitiesWithNature, a first-of-its-kind global networking and learning exchange platform for recognizing and enhancing the value of nature, and integrating it into our cities. This initiative will ramp up action and information around nature-based development in cities across the world.
• ICLEI and the CBD Secretariat announced we will host the 6th Global Biodiversity Summit of Local and Subnational Governments, convened by the South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, in parallel with the next CBD Conference of the Parties (COP). This summit will be co-hosted in partnership with the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD) and is a platform for national governments to engage with their local and subnational peers as part of global efforts to accelerate subnational implementation of global biodiversity targets.
• ICLEI issued a global call to action on city climate neutralitycalling on local and regional governments worldwide to set mid-century climate neutrality targets in municipal infrastructure and operations. This call to action, supported by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, is ahead of the Paris goal to hit climate neutrality post-2050.
• ICLEI renewed partnerships with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to strengthen our advocacy work at the global level, as well as with the South African Local Governments Association (SALGA), representing an ambition to build on this long-standing collaborative partnership to upscale and accelerate sustainable urban development through the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• ICLEI endorsed the Edmonton Declaration to build momentum around the global research agenda on cities and climate change. Cities like Montréal and Melbourne officially signed onto the Edmonton Declaration, committing to use scientific research and data to inform ambitious climate action plans.
• As an active member of the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement, Solly Msimanga, Executive Mayor of Tshwane, publicly committed the city to achieving 10 percent sustainable procurement by 2021.

For more information on any of these initiatives, get in touch with us at iclei@iclei.org.

—

Read more: Your guide to global urban transformation: Top 3 ICLEI World Congress 2018 takeaways

Photo credit – Éric Carrière © Ville de Montréal