The Ulaanbaatar Declaration emerging from the UNCCD COP17 Mayors’ Forum entered the formal record of a UNCCD COP, a first for cities and regions. COP17 also advanced finance and built momentum for greater coherence across the Rio Conventions, with the biodiversity and climate COPs and the UN Water Conference next.
The United Nations Environment Programme’s new Overshoot Report shows why every fraction of warming above 1.5°C matters, and what cities need to change in their planning, finance and governance.
When climate risk assessments leave gender out, the inequality that follows goes unmeasured, and unmeasured inequality never becomes a reason to change course.
What happens when water scarcity is no longer temporary? The concept of “water bankruptcy,” developed by 2026 Stockholm Water Prize…
In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, local and regional leaders called for a stronger voice, greater resources and a more structured role in the global response to land degradation, desertification and drought.
In Pazaryeri, it does not take a major flood to ruin a shop or damage a home, and it does not take a major intervention to prevent it.
The forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Cities (SR-Cities) could become a major scientific and political resource for urban climate action. But whether it does will depend on work already underway to translate evidence into stronger multilevel governance, practical tools, investment-ready solutions, and locally meaningful narratives.
ICLEI emphasized the indispensable role of local and regional governments in delivering global commitments and helping shape the international framework that will succeed them.
Where people live often determines the opportunities and risks they face – albeit often resulting from economic pressures, planning decisions, environmental conditions, and historical policies.
From reducing emissions to boosting climate adaptation, cities around the world are showing how Rethink, Regenerate, Reduce, Reuse and Recover strategies are turning action on plastics into a powerful lever for climate action.
The obstacle to urban climate action is rarely ambition. It is building the finance systems and project preparation support that turn plans into investable projects.
While negotiations at SB64 progressed slowly, cities and regions demonstrated that climate implementation is already underway. Their experiences show why multilevel governance and stronger partnerships are essential to delivering national climate commitments ahead of COP31.