Putting people at the heart of integrated climate action

Panelists and organizers for “Nothing about us without us: How to engage young people in co-creating sustainability policies?” included (left to right) Olga Krajewska, ICLEI Europe; Fruzsina Vargha, Sfântu-Gheorghe, Romania; Chilando Chitangala, Lusaka, Zambia; Jose Nicolas Arenas, Envigado, Colombia; Vlora Makolli, Together in Association, Sweden; Anne Louise Meincke, Cities4Children Alliance, Denmark; and Coline Blache, ICLEI 

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What does the Malmö Commitment mean to Malmö? Ultimately, a good life for all in a more sustainable world

Photo: Malmö Mayor Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh signs the Malmö Commitment on Inclusive & Equitable Communities during the ICLEI World Congress held 11-13 May, 2022 in Malmö, Sweden.  In the wake of the ICLEI World Congress in Malmö which wrapped up on 13 May, a broad cross section of cities and regional governments spanning multiple continents 

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How an Alliance has provided a much needed boost in equity-focused knowledge sharing for industrial cities

Created four years ago as a platform for industrial cities to exchange knowledge and best practices towards a green and just transition, the Urban Transitions Alliance  is formally winding down. And yet, not unlike the proverbial booster rocket falling away after its job of launching a spacecraft into orbit is done, the Alliance has given 

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Manga from City of Kitakyushu to promote the SDGs

By Kitakyushu City Japanese Manga (comic) is now recognized as one of the world’s proudest Japanese cultures and is popular in many countries around the world. The City of Kitakyushu believes that through the Manga, it is possible to communicate its international environmental improvement initiatives to a wider audience in an easy-to-understand way. Last year, 

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The Coastal City of the Future

This blog was written by Rasmus Fredriksson, project manager, Environmental Department, City of Malmö Malmö is a coastal city with a 43-kilometer coastline. Proximity to the sea has always been a foundation for Malmö’s development. Historically the city has grown by building new industrial and port areas on land reclaimed from the Öresund, the Baltic 

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How science will keep 1.5°C alive for your city

As national and regional governments grapple to “keep 1.5°C alive” with updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), science-based climate targets offer local governments a clear path towards effective climate mitigation. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (working Group I) published in 2021, human-induced global warming will see temperatures surpass 2 

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Bringing the Urban World to the peace and sustainability track: The power of G100,000+

“We cannot solve problems, by using the same kind of thinking we used when creating them” – Albert Einstein   Could you imagine the global impact, if the UN General Assembly resolution on 4 march 2022 on the war in Ukraine were to be approved by not just 140 nations, but 100,000 governments? Or fake 

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The journey towards circular development: Insights from an expert in the field

The concept of circular development has been gaining a lot of traction in the last few years for its potential to tackle global challenges like the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and waste. Many cities are starting to explore and implement measures to move away from the linear “make-use-dispose” economy model, but some obstacles remain. We 

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How circular cities protect biodiversity

The linear economic model relies on a continuous process of extraction and processing of natural resources, which is responsible for more than 90 percent of biodiversity loss. This take-make-waste model is contributing to all drivers of biodiversity loss, from land and sea use change, to ecosystem exploitation and to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing 

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Nature and circular development drive UNEA5’s Cities and Regions Summit

Nature and its services are the greatest resources local and regional governments have to mitigate the current climate emergency and support a more resilient and sustainable urban future. That, in essence, was the silver thread of the second edition of the UNEA Cities and Regions Summit, held virtually on 23 February 2022. “We now have 

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