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.

Moving in the right direction: How the first Korean “Bike to Work Challenge” is leveraging technology to tackle climate change

By Tu My Tran, Senior Officer, Sustainable Mobility, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability Contributors: Yongseok Oh (Daegu Council for Sustainable Development), Heecheol Yun (Gwangju Council for Sustainable Development), Yoonjin Cho (ICLEI Korea office) Cycle to work, track your ride, earn points, and get a chance to win, all while fighting climate change. This is 

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Achieving road safety through Vision Zero

By Himanshu Raj, Sustainable Mobility Officer and Dana Vigran, Senior Communications Officer Road traffic injuries are the tenth leading cause of death globally, and the first cause of death for children and young adults between 5-29 years of age. Every 25 seconds, somewhere in the world, one person is killed on the road, accounting for 1.3 

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Japanese cities take a circular approach to energy and decarbonization

Local and regional governments are not waiting for their national governments to take climate action. In Japan, local governments have been stepping forward to make ambitious commitments to zero carbon by 2050. For example, Tokyo has declared a “Climate Crisis Mobilization” as their commitment to respond to the climate emergency and through its Zero Emission 

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Synchronize your calendar with 2020 urban sustainable development advocacy events

Keep important events for ICLEI and Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency, along with strategic and educational opportunities, 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 

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Why cities, towns and regions are creating a roadmap towards 100% renewable energy

Tackling the climate emergency – a security, socioeconomic and environmental crisis – requires the unprecedented transformation of energy systems and an immediate transition to renewable energy across all sectors. For a perspective on why cities and regions are going renewable and what a roadmap to 100% renewables looks like at the subnational level, we talked 

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Africa leads the way in green buildings – a key enabler for renewables on the continent

Passive design and insulation can reduce a building’s energy demand and the city’s overall demand for energy, making renewables a more viable option. Increasingly, African cities have guidelines to make these shifts, but the challenge lies in making them legal requirements. As global awareness around the impact of fossil fuels and the need for cleaner 

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Three stories for local governments to watch in 2020

As we kick off a new decade, environment takes center stage. For the first time, the top five global threats in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report are all environmental. Climate action failure and biodiversity loss make the top five both in terms of likelihood and level of impact.

How Lilongwe’s bats are contributing to national biodiversity planning

By Adel Strydom and Dana Vigran In a time when cities are bursting at the seams, policy reform is vital to protect ecosystems and build climate resilient cities that preserve urban nature. This three-part series will share three policy victories in Malawi where nature is being conserved and considered in Lilongwe City, the country’s capital, 

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After COP25, frustration over decisions but even more hope on local climate action

The longest-ever climate conference, COP25, concluded on Sunday. The talks punted a number of meaningful decisions to 2020, and some results were even cause for disappointment. But those of us working for local and regional governments are used to taking the lead on ambition. While we are frustrated at the lack of progress on the decisions coming out of the negotiations, we still found four reasons to remain hopeful after this COP25.

Japanese local and regional governments move first on Paris Agreement

The new Japanese Minister of Environment, Shinjirō Koizumi, attended his first climate Conference of the Parties this year, and he brought with him both good and bad news. Local and regional governments in Japan have been stepping forward to make ambitious commitments to zero carbon, as of COP25, 28 local governments had announced their plans 

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