Hundreds of cities’ representatives and their partners have come together at the Daring Cities 2024 to exchange solutions and discuss their strategies to tackle the climate emergency. How does this translate into practice? The event showcased many real-life cases that offer inspiration for other local and regional governments to dare to take bold, transformative steps forward
Amazonian cities are diverse in opportunities and needs. The region’s biodiversity is amongst the world’s most important but its cities’ sustainability challenges are less well-known. These jurisdictions require financial support and capacity building to create sustainable, conservation-oriented, equitable, nature-based spaces with circular development. At the ICLEI World Congress, mayors from this region convened to amplify the voices of these unique cities.
The local and subnational governments coalition to end plastic pollution was officially launched on 22 April 2024, and spent INC4 building momentum for the recognition of local and subnational governments’ role, and their inclusion in the future international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC4) was…
2023 has been a year of tremendous progress for Circular Development, but we have a lot more work that needs to be accelerated as 2030 is not far away. At the same time, we need to ensure that all gains made towards making our cities, provinces, and states, circular and sustainable are not lost. ICLEI’s Circular…
This blog was written by Dr Magash Naidoo, Head of Circular Development, ICLEI World Secretariat One thing has become clear, there is a lot at stake. Our health, our natural environment, our economies, and our social equity. Yet, there are many narrow interests being pursued that make pursuing the ‘greater good’ objectives of the UNEA…
Co-Authors: Okayama City, Kitakyushu City and Toyama City 1 Background Countries agreed to establish a binding global plastics treaty by 2024 at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA5.2). The initiative was prompted by the fact that 60% of plastic pollution flows from urban areas into the oceans, harming marine biodiversity. Japan, which is surrounded by…
Ecodesign and the circular economy are interconnected concepts that share the common objective of addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable practices. While they share the same goals, they operate at distinct phases within a product’s lifecycle, resulting in a comprehensive approach to sustainable development. What is Ecodesign? Ecodesign, also known as sustainable design or…
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,…
With urban areas acting as the consumption centers of our world’s resources, local governments play an important role in this transformation. In fact, they are in a unique position to drive, catalyze and enable circular economy interventions in support of biodiversity protection and regeneration. Critically, cities are also dependent on biodiversity for sustaining the social, economic and environmental well-being of their residents which makes it all the more important for them to be at the forefront of the circular transition.
By Nagano Prefecture Cooperation between Nagano Prefecture, Japan and Region of North Karelia, Finland The Zero Carbon Conference for Students was held online for four days from February 22 to 25, 2022. The conference was organized by the Nagano Prefectural Government, Karelia University of Applied Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, North Karelia Municipal Education and…
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…
The need to set aggressive goals, backed by meaningful numbers, is an obvious starting point in the fight against climate change. It’s common knowledge that if global warming exceeds 1.5C, we face the prospect of everything from the increased incidence of extreme weather conditions to irreparable damage to our ecosystems. Which is why a growing…