ICLEI advancing local solutions to drought and land degradation at the UNCCD COP16 Mayors Forum
Read our insights from the UN Convention on Combating Desertification COP16 – and the Mayors Forum – held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2-12 December.
Empowering youth: How ICLEI engaged youth voices in 2024
From COP29 and the AfriFOODLinks Consortium to the ICLEI World Congress and key conferences across Europe, here’s how ICLEI took charge to involve youth in shaping the sustainability agenda during 2024.
Two years, no agreement on plastics: Where to from here? The Local and Subnational Government Coalition asks after INC-5
Held from 25 November to 1 December 2024, in Busan, Republic of Korea, the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) to develop a Global Plastic Treaty concluded without an agreement, pushing further negotiations into 2025. The draft text made some references to local and subnational governments, prompting the Local and Subnational Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution to advocate for stronger inclusion.
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.
Saitama City brings the G7 to COP29
Despite cities being home to the majority of G7 citizens, local governments are not yet systematically consulted by national governments on critical decisions affecting their communities. The Urban7 (U7) is seeking to change that within the G7 group of countries.
Local government representation in international fora doesn’t end with the United Nations agendas, such as the Climate COPs. Local and regional governments are advocating for representation – especially with regards to sustainable development objectives – on multiple fronts, including the G7, G20 and other multilateral platforms.
“Why should my Mayor attend global sustainability events?”
In recent years, more and more local and regional government leaders are traveling to international environmental conferences, like the annual Climate COPs or the ICLEI World Congress. These meetings provide the opportunity to discuss solutions to global and local challenges. But at the same time, the concrete value of elected leaders’ engagement can at times be difficult to grasp. What is the value for such in-person meetings? How does the community back home benefit?
The Summit of the Future: Connecting the future of multilateralism and urban sustainability
The Summit of the Future (SoF) begins on 22 September at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. The Summit is an initiative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (pictured above; photo credit Kiara Worth / UNFCCC) to improve the UN system and strengthen multilateralism. The high-level event brings world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.
Las ciudades pueden hacer realidad la iniciativa CHAMP
Durante la sesión plenaria de clausura del Congreso Mundial ICLEI 2024, la alcaldesa Katja Dörner pidió a los líderes urbanos que se comprometan de manera proactiva con sus gobiernos nacionales y asociaciones nacionales de gobiernos locales para mejorar las NDC para 2025 y apoyar la iniciativa CHAMP.
Local leaders showcase climate, poverty reduction and partnerships at UN SDGs Forum 2024
From 8 to 17 July in New York City, the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) convened UN Member States and representatives from civil society organizations to follow up and review progress on a subset of the 17 Global Goals, ranging from promoting gender equality to preserving biodiversity. ICLEI actively participated in this year’s Forum, which featured key events for cities and regions: The launch of the 8th Edition of the Global Taskforce’s Annual Report and the Local and Regional Governments Forum on the 2030 Agenda.
Seizing the moment: Local action to address biodiversity loss and climate change
Building on the unprecedented COP28’s multilevel action momentum and with the upcoming COP16 and COP29 by year-end, cities and regions have an actual window of opportunity to amplify their voices in the global climate discussions. At the ICLEI World Congress 2024 plenary, “From Global to Local to Global: Shaping the Future of Sustainability,” mayors and climate leaders emphasized that now is the time for local and regional governments to push for unified, cross-government action to achieve the urgently needed transformations toward a sustainable world.
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 the Climate Action Governance Portfolio for the ICLEI Global Executive Committee, called on urban leaders to proactively engage with their national governments and local government associations to enhance NDCs by 2025 and support CHAMP. National associations of local governments – under the leadership of ICLEI governance Members – in Germany, Brazil, and the U.S. have pledged to CHAMP, pioneering a global movement to push for stronger local involvement in national climate plans.
Reflections from a meeting of climate ministers with a Danish tragedy as backdrop
This piece was written by Anna Aaen, Deputy Mayor, City of Aalborg, Denmark, following the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial hosted by the city of Elsinore on 21-22 March 2024. It is a wonderful feeling to leave a meeting filled with energy and motivation. And it is even better when the meeting’s agenda is both significant and challenging – namely, global climate action at the local level.