Flagship Event on Cities and Regions: The Globalization of the Covenant of Mayors

On 8 December 2015, the European Commission and European Committee of the Regions organized a session entitled “Flagship Event on Cities and Regions: The Globalization of the Covenant of Mayors” in the European Union Pavilion at COP21. During the event, local leaders presented their experiences in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. 

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City Mayors Respond to Urban Poor through Climate Action

On 8 December 2015, Mayor James Nxumalo of Durban, South Africa and Vice President of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability joined Councillor Wayne Walker of Auckland, New Zealand, member of the ICLEI Regional Executive Committee for Oceania; Amal-Lee Amin, Division Chief of Infrastructure and Environmental Sector at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB); and Cristiana 

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ICLEI, Renewable Cities, World Future Council: Cities and Regions Moving towards 100% Renewable Energy

“What does it take? Will, partnership, pilots, vision, leadership,” said Milan Obradovic, Deputy Mayor of the City of Malmö, Sweden. The cities of Paris, Vancouver, Tshwane, Malmö and Jeju Province took the stage on Monday, 7 December at the Cities & Regions Pavilion to share with the audience strategies for a transition towards renewables. The 

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ICLEI and UCLG Cohost Compact of Mayors Side Event

On 7 December 2015, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) cohosted a Blue Zone side event on behalf of the Compact of Mayors Management Committee. The event provided a forum through which Compact committed and compliant cities could report on their achievements, update negotiators on Compact activities since 

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Copenhagen: Making Sustainability Convenient

Copenhagen is striving to be the first carbon neutral city in the world, and is well on the way toward this goal, with a 31% absolute reduction and a 40% per capita drop in greenhouse gas emissions since 2005. In 2014, the London School of Economics named Copenhagen a green growth leader, recognizing its achievements 

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EcoMobility: Actions Speak Louder than Words

On Saturday, 5 December, six visionary city leaders came together in the Cities & Regions Pavilion to display their actions to advance ecomobility in their cities. The session was organized by the City of Johannesburg and ICLEI. The EcoMobility World Festival 2015 in October in Johannesburg constituted a landmark in the history of South African 

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ICLEI: First Annual Summit of the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement

Participants in the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement (GLCN on SP) have come together on Saturday 5 December at the COP21 to celebrate their first annual Summit in the Cities & Regions Pavilion – TAP2015. Auckland, Cape Town, Denver, Ghent, Helsinki, Oslo, Quezon, Rotterdam, Seoul and Warsaw are all participants of this Network, 

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ICLEI, IDEA, Euroheat&Power, Empower: District Energy in Cities

Is it possible to use the words “sexy” and “cost effective” in the same sentence? It is, if you are talking about modern district energy. Three district energy champion cities – Saint Paul (USA), Malmö (Sweden) and Gothenburg (Sweden) took the stage to show how “hot” this topic is for achieving a climate-smart, resilient and 

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TAP Time: North America

The North American TAP Time session on Friday, 4 December at the Cities & Regions Pavilion presented transformative projects from six North American cities. These projects were selected through a competitive application process and are recognized at the TAP Pavilion for their ambition and potential to accelerate climate actions locally. The “Big Blue Bus Electrification” is a 

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Mayors Convene for Landmark Climate Summit for Local Leaders

On 4 December 2015, hundreds of mayors convened at Paris City Hall for the Climate Summit for Local Leaders, as part of the largest global convening of mayors, governors and local leaders focused on climate change. The afternoon general session began with opening remarks from cohosts Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, and Michael Bloomberg, UN 

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