The way Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie sees it, cities and towns should “always have a seat at the table” in the multi-level dialogue surrounding climate change. As mayor of a midwestern American city since 2004, this has been a long-held priority for Cownie – and now as the newly-elected president of ICLEI, it moves
Over the past 50 years, biodiversity loss has taken place at an unprecedented scale driven by extraordinary change in land and sea use and the overexploitation of natural resources. In an increasingly urbanized world, natural habitats have been converted to urban areas at an alarming rate. Historically, cities have posed a threat to biodiversity and
It is time to turn this opportunity into a new normal in every country towards COP26. ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA applauds the Biden administration for announcing the U.S.’ second nationally determined contribution (NDC) submission to the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims at 50 to 52 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels
ICLEI US launches the ICLEI150 Race to Zero On the occasion of Earth Week and the U.S. Climate Leaders Summit, 21 city and county leaders in the United States launched the ICLEI150 Race to Zero. This initiative represents an effort to significantly advance local carbon neutrality efforts in the United States and demonstrate U.S. leadership
If there was a common storyline at last week’s ICLEI World Congress, it was that local politicians are pushing hard on multiple fronts to enact positive change, often with more aggressive targets than their peers at the national level. Targets however, that require at least some degree of federal funding in order to come to
“ICLEI has been tackling climate change for more than 30 years and when we started, it was certainly not a hot topic, but today it is a critical topic and it is literally life-defining for many people,” observed Maryke van Staden at last week’s ICLEI World Congress 2021-22. She went on to note that in
The first day of the ICLEI World Congress 2021 – 2022 closed with a discussion on “Equitably Shaping Our Sustainable Urban Future.” Representatives from local governments from around the world shared their experiences through ongoing initiatives to create an equitable sustainable development framework that is inclusive for all. Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of Malmö, Sweden,
At the opening of the ICLEI World Congress 2021 – 2022 Virtual Launch, ICLEI’s newly elected leadership came out in force to show their commitment to nature-based, circular, resilient, low emission and equitable development. Facing the on-going global pandemic, ICLEI leaders kicked-off the ICLEI World Congress 2021 – 2022 with an all-digital event. Katrin Stjernfeldt
“Humanity’s relationship with nature is broken.” That’s the unsettling observation UN Secretary General António Guterres made in a recent speech that Kobie Brand says helps keep things in perspective for her in her capacity as Global Director of the ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center. “He said that we are in a crisis… and the defining issue
The former industrial shipyard Western Harbour boasts a heavy concentration of green roofs and a heat pump plant that provides residents with heating and cooling. The neighbourhood of Augustenborg is known for its focus on climate adaptation and social and green regeneration initiatives. Hyllie for its smart energy solutions, Sege Park for its sharing economy,