What NDCs 3.0 are (and aren’t) saying about multilevel, inclusive climate action
With only 27 new NDCs submitted by June 2025, covering just 21% of global emissions, are governments actually delivering on that promise?
Can local climate dialogues really shape national climate action? The Town Hall COP Initiative is trying to prove they can
ICLEI’s Town Hall COP Initiative is emerging as a powerful model to make climate action truly locally led, transformation-oriented, and, most importantly, nationally relevant.
Town Hall COPs gain traction with global reach and national endorsement
Since launching in early 2025, the Town Hall COP Initiative has gained momentum, with 70+ local governments and civil society organizations registered to host an event. Seven cities in six countries have already hosted their events, and South Africa became the first national government to officially endorse the initiative. Read on for the latest updates on how local voices are shaping climate action ahead of COP30.
Advocacy & diplomacy COP30 Daring Cities 2025 Global Advocacy Multilevel governance Zero emission Development
From Bonn to Belém: How national commitments and cities together can deliver a climate-ready future
Under the umbrella of Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues, this event highlighted the importance of partnerships to deliver not just ambitious plans, but real climate action for a thriving future.
Beyond the bin: What cities can do to make reuse work
What if your coffee cup or takeout container didn’t end up in the trash, but went back into circulation, reducing waste, cutting emissions, and sparking local innovation and green jobs? Explore lessons from the Circular City Labs project.
Heat is rising. Here’s how cities are rising to respond.
Feeling the heat? So are our cities, and they’re taking action. On Heat Action Day, we spotlight how local and regional governments are rising to the challenge through people-centered solutions to beat the heat.
The Kaohsiung–ICLEI Community of Practice: When bold cities collaborate
The Kaohsiung–ICLEI Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Community of Practice delivered its first in-person capacity-building workshop series, providing strategic tools to advance urban transformation through circular development and agenda-serving innovation.
How Daring Cities 2025 is mobilizing multilevel action
Under the theme “Stronger national climate plans through multilevel action,” the sixth edition of Daring Cities aims to serve as a pivotal platform for local and regional governments to influence global climate negotiations. Explore what Daring Cities 2025 is bringing to the table.
On the road to COP30: Reflecting on how multilevel action can strengthen national climate plans
Looking ahead to COP30, what cities and regions do in advance of this global climate summit may matter more than the conference itself. On the road to Belém, local and regional governments have a unique opportunity to engage with their national governments, shift the trajectory of the climate emergency, and push for inclusive, multilevel climate action.
Ten ingredients to stir up urban agrifood systems transformation
What happens when around 100 stakeholders from five continents come together to discuss urban agrifood systems transformation? In September 2024, the Urban Agrifood Systems Global Workshop—co-organized by FAO and ICLEI—turned FAO headquarters in Rome into a vibrant marketplace of ideas. Check out the outcomes.
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 national and global efforts. How do the Town Hall COPs fit into the current global climate arena? We brought this discussion to COP29.
A new menu? Bringing stakeholders to the table for urban agrifood systems transformation
From 9 to 11 September 2024, over 100 participants from five continents gathered at FAO headquarters in Rome for the Urban Agrifood Systems Global Workshop, co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and ICLEI. The workshop laid the groundwork for the co-creation of a five-year Roadmap toward transforming urban agrifood systems.
