Global sustainability agendas: 10 things we’re watching for in 2025

Global sustainability agendas: 10 things we’re watching for in 2025

ByYunus Arikan

As we begin a pivotal year, many global north countries are facing elections and leadership changes, testing the world’s commitment to sustainable development. Last year, we witnessed several key global processes needing to continue into 2025 – like the biodiversity negotiations and the Plastics Treaty – or delivering a disappointing lack of ambition, such as the climate COP. Here are the ten things we’re watching for in 2025 regarding the global sustainability agendas.

From Daring Cities to Town Hall COPs, how ICLEI is taking on local-to-global climate action

From Daring Cities to Town Hall COPs, how ICLEI is taking on local-to-global climate action

ByBarbara Riedemann

Throughout 2024, Daring Cities spotlighted the Town Hall COPs initiative as an innovative mechanism linking local climate emergency action to national and global efforts. How do the Town Hall COPs fit into the current global climate arena? We brought this discussion to COP29.

“Why should my Mayor attend global sustainability events?”

“Why should my Mayor attend global sustainability events?”

ByMadison Hodges

In recent years, more and more local and regional government leaders are traveling to international environmental conferences, like the annual Climate COPs or the ICLEI World Congress. These meetings provide the opportunity to discuss solutions to global and local challenges. But at the same time, the concrete value of elected leaders’ engagement can at times be difficult to grasp. What is the value for such in-person meetings? How does the community back home benefit?

The Summit of the Future: Connecting the future of multilateralism and urban sustainability

The Summit of the Future: Connecting the future of multilateralism and urban sustainability

ByAriel Dekovic

The Summit of the Future (SoF) begins on 22 September at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. The Summit is an initiative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (pictured above; photo credit Kiara Worth / UNFCCC) to improve the UN system and strengthen multilateralism. The high-level event brings world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.

Seizing the moment: Local action to address biodiversity loss and climate change

Seizing the moment: Local action to address biodiversity loss and climate change

ByBarbara Riedemann

Building on the unprecedented COP28’s multilevel action momentum and with the upcoming COP16 and COP29 by year-end, cities and regions have an actual window of opportunity to amplify their voices in the global climate discussions. At the ICLEI World Congress 2024 plenary, “From Global to Local to Global: Shaping the Future of Sustainability,” mayors and climate leaders emphasized that now is the time for local and regional governments to push for unified, cross-government action to achieve the urgently needed transformations toward a sustainable world.

Cities and regions step up multilevel climate action momentum at SB60

Cities and regions step up multilevel climate action momentum at SB60

ByBarbara Riedemann

At the midpoint between COP28 and COP29, the Bonn Climate Talks (SB60), held in Bonn, Germany during these past two weeks, built upon last year’s outcomes from Dubai, aiming to drive progress and prepare decisions for adoption in Baku in November 2024. Running alongside the SB60 sessions on 3-5 June, Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues embodied multilevel action by positioning cities and regions at the center of global climate discussions. This fifth edition featured significant milestones, including a CHAMP endorsers roundtable, the first joint public dialogue between UN High-Level Climate Champions and fostered synergies across diverse topics, including climate-land-nature, loss and damage and urban systems.

Setting up a multilevel COP29: UN High-Level Climate Champions elevate the importance of subnationals and launch COP29 action agenda

Setting up a multilevel COP29: UN High-Level Climate Champions elevate the importance of subnationals and launch COP29 action agenda

ByMatteo Bizzotto

As the SBs continue to set the stage for COP29, global city representatives shared concrete examples of multilevel governance and partnership for enhanced climate action between national and local governments.

Understanding urban loss: A step toward climate justice

Understanding urban loss: A step toward climate justice

ByMatteo Bizzotto

Loss and Damage is a crucial concept in the global climate dialogue, addressing the adverse effects of climate change that cannot be avoided through mitigation and adaptation efforts. This blog delves into the latest discussions from Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues and the SB60 in Bonn, shedding light on the progress and challenges on Loss and Damage.

Latin America leading: From ICLEI World Congress 2024 to COP30

Latin America leading: From ICLEI World Congress 2024 to COP30

ByMatteo Bizzotto

Amidst the urgency of global climate action, São Paulo, Brazil, stands out for its dedication to sustainability and for being the host of the ICLEI World Congress in June 2024, to advance environmental goals and foster international cooperation. The city’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is evident through initiatives like expanding bus lanes, transitioning to a greener bus fleet, promoting urban agriculture, and enhancing green spaces to improve air quality, food security, and urban biodiversity.

Latin American cities rally in unprecedented line-up of events as UN cancels regional climate week

Latin American cities rally in unprecedented line-up of events as UN cancels regional climate week

ByMatteo Bizzotto

The cancellation of this year’s UN Regional Climate Weeks, raised concerns about the regional dimensions at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Contrasting this, local and regional governments in Latin America are advancing their own ‘regional dialogues,’ with Belém, Brazil, emerging as a key hub for climate discussions and preparations for a successful COP30.

Cities and regions at UN’s Environment Assembly: Safeguarding environmental integrity of global sustainability through multilevel action

Cities and regions at UN’s Environment Assembly: Safeguarding environmental integrity of global sustainability through multilevel action

ByMagash Naidoo

At the recent sixth United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6) in Nairobi, resolutions shaped the strategic direction of global environmental policy…