Yucatán capital Mérida becomes fourth city to join climate insurance program

Photo: Renán Barrera (left), Mayor of Mérida, Mexico, and Edgar Villaseñor Franco, ICLEI Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (MECS), after signing the letter of intent to join the Urban Infrastructure Insurance Facility project. Mérida, Mexico, capital of the Yucatán Peninsula, became the fourth pilot city to express interest in joining the Urban 

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Putting people at the heart of integrated climate action

Panelists and organizers for “Nothing about us without us: How to engage young people in co-creating sustainability policies?” included (left to right) Olga Krajewska, ICLEI Europe; Fruzsina Vargha, Sfântu-Gheorghe, Romania; Chilando Chitangala, Lusaka, Zambia; Jose Nicolas Arenas, Envigado, Colombia; Vlora Makolli, Together in Association, Sweden; Anne Louise Meincke, Cities4Children Alliance, Denmark; and Coline Blache, ICLEI 

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Enough is enough: Mayors and Councillors affected by Australian floods call for support

Over thirty mayors and councillors from some of Australia’s most flood-damaged regions have called on the government to do more to protect communities from tragic and costly extreme weather. Mayors and councillors from Lismore in New South Wales to Logan in Queensland, released a joint statement responding to one of the worst extreme weather disasters 

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Tracking progress en route from Madrid to Glasgow

In a parallel universe, we would be gathered this week in Glasgow for COP26, but instead we are facing a global pandemic that has disrupted life as we know it around the world. In the face of this challenge, we are forced to reimagine and redesign a new and healthier future for communities around the 

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Daring Cities closing balances bold initiatives with challenges that lie ahead

Inspiring city initiatives in the fight against climate change have sprung up around the world, from the conversion of former landfill sites into wetlands in Buenos Aires, to Delhi closing its most polluting power plant, to Guangzhou electrifying its entire bus network. At the same time, questions linger over why cities like Lagos or Dakar 

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Cities rally around nature in the quest to become more resilient

In Montreal, they’re building Canada’s largest urban park. Once complete, the 8,000-hectare nature sanctuary will be eight times as large as New York’s Central Park.  In Bonn, green roofs are now mandatory for any surface larger than 200 square metres.  And 100 cities across Europe are currently involved in over 1,000 nature-based best practice solutions 

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In response to COVID-19, cities focus on nature and innovation to ensure a green recovery

“We are now facing two global crises, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. Post-COVID-19 recovery should not mark the return to a conventional society, but rather, the shift to a more sustainable and resilient society by redesigning our socio-economic system.” This was the opening statement from H.E. Koizumi Shinjiro, the Minister of Environment of Japan 

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Methods and myths of sustainable development

Sustainable isn’t attainable when it comes to urban development and growth. Or at least that’s the prevailing perception many naysayers have, said Carolina Schmidt, Chile’s Minister of Environment  during the recent TEDxDaringCities session entitled: Embedding Climate Neutrality Ambition Through Sustainable Development.  Citing figures from the World Bank, Schmidt said that investing $40 billion USD in 

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With goal of becoming world’s first climate resilient country, Dominica inspires cities to better prepare for extreme weather conditions

Three years ago, the Caribbean island of Dominica was battered by Hurricane Maria’s winds of up to 250 km. Now, the island nation has announced plans to become the world’s first climate resilient country by 2030.  In the wake of that announcement, Dominica spokesperson Francine Baron took time to expand on the drive behind her 

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TEDxDaringCities opening showcases real local action while imagining a zero carbon future

The climate emergency is happening right now, in our cities, towns and regions around the world. But what if we have all the solutions and political will we need already within our grasp? The global initiative Countdown, a unique collaboration powered by TED and Future Stewards, and supported by a huge array of partners, including 

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