CityTalk is Your Source for Urban Sustainability Stories
Local actions driving global change
WHAT’S TRENDING
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Cultivating food access: How cities are fostering equitable and resilient urban food systems
Food is a cornerstone of health, dignity and wellbeing—yet many cities face challenges in ensuring access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food. Discover how cities in the Malmö Commitment Network are building inclusive food systems that serve everyone, especially the most vulnerable.
Urban biodiversity
Protecting biodiversity, restoring ecosystems, and reconnecting people with nature in cities.
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10 reasons to promote urban biodiversity
Over the past 50 years, biodiversity loss has taken place at an unprecedented scale driven by extraordinary change in land…
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Measuring urban biodiversity progress and impact: From global frameworks to local tools
With platforms like CitiesWithNature, the Berlin Urban Nature Pact, and metrics like the 3-30-300 rule, local and subnational governments are…
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What does an ecological civilization look like? China’s Guiyang City is showing the way
With lush forests, clean air, and a fast-growing green economy, Guiyang is proving that cities can thrive without costing the…
Town Hall COP
The Town Hall COP Initiative is aimed at fostering dialogue in local communities with their local, subnational and national governments and partners. Building on multilevel climate action initiatives like the Local Stocktakes in 2023 and COP28’s CHAMP Initiative, the Town Hall COP complements these efforts by bridging community-level strategies to national climate plans and international agenda-setting
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Greater Sydney hosts a regional Town Hall COP, sparking community-driven climate dialogue
On 13 March 2025, Greater Sydney hosted one of the first Town Hall COPs for 2025 – part of a…
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Global sustainability agendas: 10 things we’re watching for in 2025
As we begin a pivotal year, many global north countries are facing elections and leadership changes, testing the world’s commitment…
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From Daring Cities to Town Hall COPs, how ICLEI is taking on local-to-global climate action
Throughout 2024, Daring Cities spotlighted the Town Hall COPs initiative as an innovative mechanism linking local climate emergency action to…
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Cities can bring CHAMP to life
During the ICLEI World Congress 2024 closing plenary on 21 June, Katja Dörner, Mayor of Bonn, Germany, and chair of…
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Local youth voices going global: Uganda’s youth-led stocktake
Under the #Stocktake4ClimateEmergency initiative, 26 cities and regions staged their local events that officially contributed to the first Global Stocktake….
Gender & equity
Exemplary initiatives that embed gender and equity into sustainable urban development
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Bursting the bubble? Engaging the disengaged for equitable climate transitions
To ensure climate policies are more socially balanced, particularly in addressing the needs and participation of structurally disadvantaged populations, the…
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No one left behind: Three daring cities embedding equity for sustainable urban development
The Malmö Commitment pledges social equity as the core of sustainable urban development, building a network of pioneer local and…
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Centering human rights in equitable and just climate adaptation in the Global South
Placing people at the heart of development policies is crucial, especially in the Global South. In this panel, leaders discussed…
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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,…
Innovative finance
Innovative approaches to sustainable development financing and the integration of equitable principles into project implementation
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How green bonds are shaping the future of sustainable investment
Green bonds can unlock infrastructure investment opportunities for cities and nations to finance transformative solutions.
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Scaling climate finance: From COP29 to COP30 and beyond
The urgent call for increased climate finance for local and regional governments has resonated globally with stakeholders rallying to address…
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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…
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Three pillars to empower women in climate and disaster risk financing: Bridging the gender gap
“Natural hazards, such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes, are gender-neutral, but their impacts are not.” This statement from the World…