Four issues to watch at the unstoppable COP25

Written by Yunus Arikan, Head of ICLEI Global Advocacy and Policy, and Matteo Bizzotto, Junior Communications Officer After a turbulent last-minute change of host country, COP25 is underway in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 13 December 2019 under the Presidency of Chile. This is not the first time the organization of this UNFCCC event has 

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Top 5 takeaways for cities and regions from the UN Climate Action Summit

For this year’s Climate Action Summit in New York, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on leaders to bring concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, plans that would bring nations in line to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade and to net zero emissions by 

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[Infographic] How ICLEI’s five pathways contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals are 17 goals to transform our world. These goals are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which countries adopted in 2015. They are a call to action by all countries to encourage economic prosperity while protecting the earth and its resources. The goals demonstrate that economic growth is interconnected 

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Mayors of Katowice and Bonn: Our call for deep transformation and greater ambition at COP24

By Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of Bonn and President of ICLEI and Marcin Krupa, Mayor of Katowice and member of the the ICLEI Urban Transitions Alliance                         Next month, we will join nations in Katowice, Poland for COP24, the 24th United Nations Climate Change Conference. 

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Resilient Cities 2018: Driving global conversations

Knowledge exchange and technical deep dives are always core elements of the annual Resilient Cities congress. The program is designed for a critical examination of emerging issues in urban resilience and informative exchanges around them. Sessions cover a diversity of topics, so that every participant can find his or her place in the conversation, from 

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Multilevel climate governance: A hot topic for the next decade

The Talanoa Dialogue launched at COP23, the 23rd United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2017, is designed to take stock of and strengthen climate action globally. It also opens the door to a more inclusive and collaborative approach to climate governance by connecting nations and climate stakeholders. The Cities and Regions Talanoa Dialogues, facilitated by ICLEI – Local Governments 

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When science meets policy and practice: Top 3 ways to achieve Paris goals

We need to dig in and build stronger links between climate science, urban policy and practice. The interconnection between the three perspectives is critical to creating coherent policy frameworks driven by hard data and scientific evidence, and informed by practitioner expertise. Urban areas account for about 70 percent of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and 

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ICLEI’s take on what to expect in 2018: The year for a reality check

Last year ended with a sense that the momentum on sustainable development is durable. It was a hard blow when the U.S. backed out of the Paris Agreement, but the global and U.S. domestic response was swift and forceful. All in all, 2017 reaffirmed that nations, cities and towns, regions, civil society and the private 

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ICLEI’s top 5 takeaways from COP23

COP23, the 23rd United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, came to a close on 18 November 2017. Here are our top takeaways and assessment of what it all means for local and regional governments – and for global climate action.   1. COP23 proved that the Paris Agreement is unstoppable and irreversible – 

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COP23 is on track to set the scene for multilevel, multistakeholder climate action. This is how success could look

Every year, there is a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP). The next one (COP23) will be in Bonn, Germany in November 2017. In between COPs, the UNFCCC organizes mid-year climate negotiation sessions – the so-called intersessionals – which are usually held in Bonn. The May 

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