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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Women and girls at the center of transformation in the built environment

Throughout 2022 to 2024, IHRB, ICLEI and other partners advance a research and action agenda on just transitions in the built environment, with deep-dives in specific contexts as well as international-level advocacy. This resulting blog is written by Annabel Short, Senior Advisor, Built Environment, IHRB, and Dr. Ying-Chih Deng-Sommer, Sustainable Built Environment Officer, ICLEI. As 

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ICLEI STATEMENT: War in Ukraine

This statement is endorsed by the ICLEI President and ICLEI’s Global Executive Committee War is the most unsustainable act of human beings on this planet. ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability urgently calls on all national leaders to stop the armed conflict and to settle for a peaceful resolution in accordance with the UN Charter 

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Release: Strong urban alliance formed to accompany the German G7 Presidency

(24 February 2022) The Association of German Cities (Deutscher Städtetag), the Global Parliament of Mayors and ICLEI have launched a urban alliance to accompany the German G7 Presidency. The alliance will support the G7 Presidency program, which has highlighted the importance of “harnessing the transformative power of cities.” Cities can offer immense contributions to the 

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