How Daring Cities will prepare you for COP26

Ahead of COP26, city leaders are coming together at Daring Cities to advance and define their demands for the global climate conference in November – the ‘last chance’ to implement drastic climate action (IPCC Report, 2021). While negotiations will take place at the international level, national and subnational governments will be key implementing partners of 

Continue Reading →

Money Talks: Daring Cities 2021 finance sessions highlight critical role of capital in bringing green infrastructure projects to fruition

Local and regional governments can talk all they want about tackling climate change, but at the end of the day, “nothing will happen on the ground without the financing… at least nothing of substance,” observes Nigel Jollands, the associate director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). “The only way we’re going to 

Continue Reading →

5 speakers not to miss at Daring Cities 2021

On 4-8 October, Daring Cities 2021 will be bringing you the latest on urban sustainability from citymakers worldwide. From the Philippines to Ecuador, we’ve hand-selected the best and most daring of city leaders for you to get to know! You’ll hear from the trailblazers who are calling out corporate energy giants as perpetrators of climate 

Continue Reading →

Bo01 community in Malmö celebrates 20 years as a global source of inspiration

By Lucas Dietrichson, Communication Strategist, City of Malmö and Braoin MacLauchlan, Communications Assistant, ICLEI World Secreteriat The sustainable housing development Bo01, part of the European Housing Exposition 2001, celebrates 20 years of a thriving urban community. The project has won several awards and is still attracting people from all over the world who want to 

Continue Reading →

How four cities are fostering equity-focused climate action

Cities bring together all types of people into confined urban spaces, and they also reveal stark social inequalities. In dense urban environments, the contrast between rich and poor is particularly visible. This is the case in many industrial legacy cities with traditional workers’ districts. Close to former industrial sites, many of these heavily built-up neighborhoods 

Continue Reading →

Faster, more intense, with more devastating impacts: New IPCC report lays out the scientific basis of the climate emergency

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report, Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis, which brings together the most recent advances in climate science to outline the current state of climate change. The results are grave. The opening line of the report’s Summary for Policymakers reads: “It is unequivocal that human 

Continue Reading →

Closing the ambition cycle with Race to Zero in Brazil: A warm-up for COP26

With the increase in commercial interest for climate solutions, more companies are acknowledging a need to invest in the zero-carbon economy and to minimize their environmental impacts. At the same time, local and regional governments are trying to prioritize mitigation and adaption policies in light of the climate crisis’ adverse effects. However, if limiting global warming 

Continue Reading →

How local governments can put food on the table: An interview with ICLEI Global Food Program Coordinator Peter Defranceschi

2021 is the year of food. After the pandemic exposed how vulnerable food systems are, two global summits are placing food front and center: the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in September in New York, USA (with the Pre-Summit gathering key actors from July 26-28 in Rome, Italy), and the Nutrition for Growth Summit this 

Continue Reading →

Supporting food security through local, circular food systems

Cities are at the epicenter of food value chain vulnerabilities  Despite the zero hunger goal set in 2015 in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. An estimated 2 billion people in the world did not have regular access to 

Continue Reading →

How Malmö is using innovative procurement as a tool for circular development

By Lucas Dietrichson, Communication Strategist, City of Malmö and Everica Rivera, Communications Officer, ICLEI World Secreteriat The  City of Malmö is one of Sweden’s biggest public purchasers.  Through smart procurement, the city has been able to contribute to sustainable development and support circular thinking. Here are three examples: 1. Raising the bar for sustainable IT 

Continue Reading →