Wrapping up Daring Cities’ 2024 Cornerstone I “Reflect,” two in-depth webinars gathered local leaders and climate representatives to discuss past climate initiatives, especially those stemming from COP28. Here, we share their insights exploring how cities and regions can leverage COP28 outcomes, particularly the CHAMP initiative, as we move forward to the upcoming COPs in Baku…
In the weeks and months leading up to COP27, the signs for a successful conference were not particularly encouraging. There was the ongoing failure to meet energy cuts and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters had previously committed to. Environmental activist Greta Thunberg announced she would not attend, portraying…
Everything your city or region needs to know about this year’s global climate event and driving multilevel climate action during and beyond the conference. Want to be a part of the action in Sharm El Sheikh? The Multilevel Action Pavilion is in-person and online! Register today, view the full agenda, and subscribe to the daily…
Leaders returning home from Glasgow will be feeling many mixed emotions on how COP26 concluded. In a fraught two weeks, where the worst case outcome of a failed agreement was possible at many moments, to have achieved a global agreement at the global climate conference at all is a muted success. As many have noted,…
Everything your city or region needs to know about this year’s global climate event and driving multilevel climate action during and beyond the summit. Want to be a part of the action in Glasgow? The Multilevel Action Pavilion is in-person and online! Register today! The 26th climate COP is a critical summit for global climate…
The way Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie sees it, cities and towns should “always have a seat at the table” in the multi-level dialogue surrounding climate change. As mayor of a midwestern American city since 2004, this has been a long-held priority for Cownie – and now as the newly-elected president of ICLEI, it moves…
“Urban development is recognized as an essential lever to foster sustainable development,” said Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI matter-of-factly during the second Daring Cities opening session. But how do local governments balance much needed development with the preservation of our ecosystem… two global priorities which often seem at odds with one another? One…
The longest-ever climate conference, COP25, concluded on Sunday. The talks punted a number of meaningful decisions to 2020, and some results were even cause for disappointment. But those of us working for local and regional governments are used to taking the lead on ambition. While we are frustrated at the lack of progress on the decisions coming out of the negotiations, we still found four reasons to remain hopeful after this COP25.
Kobie Brand Director, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity CenterRegional Director, ICLEI Africa Secretariat The Mayors who are a part of the ICLEI network in Africa often share on-the-ground perspectives of the climate change impacts they experience, many of which are devastating. In our network of local leaders, there is an intense urgency – we cannot afford to…
By Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group & Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability When UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael R. Bloomberg suggested creating a Compact of Mayors to mirror the UN programme for national commitments on climate change, it was not…
The Basque Declaration has been adopted by local and regional leaders taking part in the 8th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, providing urban societies with pathways to become productive, sustainable and resilient. Bilbao, Basque Country, 27 April 2016. – At a time when Europe and the European Union are facing severe financial and social…
Blog by Chris Pieper We arrived back in St. Paul, Minnesota on a cold December afternoon, after spending a week enjoying the comparatively mild weather of Paris, France. In Paris, we joined tens of thousands of people, including around 150 world leaders, who convened on the quiet Parisian suburb of Le Bourget as part of…