At the subnational level, ICLEI drives change along five interconnected pathways that cut across sectors and jurisdictional boundaries. This design enables local and regional governments to develop solutions in a holistic and integrated way, creating change across entire urban systems. We influence sustainability policy and drive local action for zero emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development.
Created in 2021, LUPPA helps cities develop food policies that are systemic, intersectoral, coherent and participatory, and it currently connects more than 70 Brazilian municipalities in a network of learning, exchange and technical cooperation.
Rather than treating waste management in isolation, Colón is exploring how resource recovery, local planning, community participation, and climate action can all be connected.
Investments in stormwater infrastructure, preventive maintenance, and technical planning aim to reduce flood risks, protect communities, and maintain mobility.
While local governments may not regulate major industries directly, they are indispensable enablers of industrial mitigation ambition and implementation.
Clearer air, less noise and cleaner streets. Discover how Seoul, Republic of Korea, is reducing the environmental impact of urban development while protecting people and the environment.
This blog examines the interdependence between equity and resilience, exploring how climate-related risks are experienced across different regions and how ICLEI’s work around the world integrates both in responding to these risks.
When climate risk assessments leave gender out, the inequality that follows goes unmeasured, and unmeasured inequality never becomes a reason to change course.
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.
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.
In Izmir, four departments stopped working in silos and built one shared curriculum, with results none of them expected.
At the Zero Waste Forum 2026 (5-7 June, Istanbul, Türkiye), cities made the case that transforming waste into a resource is emerging as one of the most practical pathways for delivering climate action, strengthening resilience, and advancing sustainable urban development.