URBAN
U20Communiqué
2023

20

Call to G20
countries forenabling cities to ensure aresilient and inclusive
urban future.

We, the leaders and mayors of the undersigned cities, havecome together as the Urban 20 (U20) to call on the G20
leaders to consider the priorities and recommendations that wehave jointly put forth in this Communiqué.

use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The
peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well
as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not beof war.

We live in an increasingly urbanized world, and it is evident
that cities are the principal agents for addressing global
developmental agendas and shaping a better future. We
therefore ask G20 national governments to support ourleadership and collaborate with us to achieve safe, resilient, justurban societies, and equitable, affordable, inclusive transitions
and deliver on the commitment of halving global emissions
by 2030 and keeping global temperatures from rising above
1.5°C. We can deliver on social justice, inclusion, climate
action, resilience towards disasters and a good quality of life
for all citizens, only if cities and national governments work
together as valuable and equal partners.

U20 collectively calls for peaceful resolution of the conflictthrough political dialogue in appropriate platforms, mediationand other peaceful means and commits to strengthen a cultureof peace, timely humanitarian response, and respect for
democracy and human rights.

In the last decade, cities have played a significant role intackling global and local challenges such as pandemics,
climate change impacts, bio-diversity loss, socio-economic
inequalities, and geo-political issues.
Countries have reiterated their national positions as expressedin other fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN
General Assembly, which, in Resolution No. ES-11/1 dated
2 March 2022, as adopted by majority vote (141 votes for, 5against, 35 abstentions, 12 absent) deplores in the strongest
terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraineand demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal fromthe territory of Ukraine. Most members strongly condemned
the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense humansuffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global
economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting
supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, andelevating financial stability risks. There were other views
and different assessments of the situation and sanctions.
Recognizing that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security
issues we acknowledge that security issues can have significant
consequences for the global economy. It is essential to upholdinternational law and the multilateral system that safeguards
peace and stability. This includes defending all the Purposes
and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations
and adhering to international humanitarian law, including theprotection of civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts. The
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Urban areas are also the most susceptible to impacts ofglobal crises and disruptions due to the sheer size and densityof populations. It is their imperative to combat all forms of
discrimination and include all citizens in design and decisionmaking, irrespective of age, gender, race, religion, disability,
or socio-economic circumstance, and provide an inclusive andfinancially viable social safety net. Cities are therefore a crucial
constituency that can work with nations to address structuralinequalities, promote social and territorial cohesion, support
vulnerable economic activities, improve access to food andaffordable energy, promote cultural life and heritage, protect
under-represented communities, and foster local public service
provision as a key instrument for delivering social and social
security protection along with safeguarding human rights.
In this sixth cycle of U20, under the leadership of the 2023 U20
Chair city of Ahmedabad, our goal is to move from “Intention
to Action”. Echoing the G20 theme of “One Earth, One
Family, One Future” we want to encourage more ambitious
cooperation between national governments, cities, citizens, andother stakeholders to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montréal
Global Biodiversity Framework within this ‘Decade of Action’.
We urge national governments to acknowledge the crucial role
local and subnational governments play in realizing the 2030
Agenda as shown by the Voluntary Local Reviews and that
could be reinforced by the Global Stocktake at COP28.
Our Communiqué puts forth strategic recommendations
to the G20 at their Leaders’ Summit in Delhi in September
2023 to solicit global support and national interventions thatenable cities to take further action in addressing the pressing
challenges faced by our planet.

This is taken from paragraphs 3 and 4 of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Chair’s Summary & Outcome Document (1-2 March 2023), which were agreed to by all
member countries except Russia and China, and which quote the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration (15-16 November 2022).
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01

Achieving sustainable, equitable and resilient urban development requires concerted action and behavioural change
across the entire urban ecosystem, ranging from governmental policies to industrial processes to choices madeby businesses and individuals. This necessitates resources to empower cities to deepen their commitment towards
environmental sustainability and ensure a just and equitable transition to net zero GHG emissions. We call on the
G20 to collaborate with cities and provide means to:

ENCOURAGINGENVIRONMENTALLYRESPONSIBLE
BEHAVIOURS

01.
02.
03.

Localise global sustainability agendas: Place science-based inclusive climate action at the centre of all decision-making
to move towards net zero development and at least a 50% global reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. Facilitate
research & development in green technologies and renewable energy such as solar, wind, green hydrogen, etc. for urban
services. Promote national and city-level policies and activities for net zero transition in eight critical areas: (i) regulations
for new buildings to operate at net zero and old buildings to be retrofit for the same; (ii) production and use of renewableenergy to maximise renewable electricity; (iii) circular economy practices and Nature-based Solutions in water,
wastewater, solid waste management and construction sectors to support transition from grey to green infrastructure; (iv)reduction in use of plastic and phasing out of single-use plastic; (v) prioritisation of public transport, zero-emission vehicles
and active travel (including walking, cycling), and reduction in CO2 emitting private car usage; (vi) urban food security
and access to sustainably grown food through urban farming; (vii) responsible and local supply chains in all urban sector
products and services to prevent the loss of biodiversity and green cover; and (viii) increased area and quality of green
and blue spaces in cities for all urban residents to access their health-related benefits.

Create a framework for sustainable and just transitions that leave no one behind: Promote fair treatment and meaningful
involvement of all people in the development and enforcement of socio-environmental policies, regardless of race,
gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or income. Enact regulations to promote green career opportunities in all
sectors, especially for youth and women. Support formal and informal sector workers in the transition to a green andwellbeing economy and provide incentives through skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling, ensuring living wages, workplacesafety, universal health coverage and social protection benefits. Create specialised funding mechanisms to support justtransition initiatives and develop community resilience to shocks. Address energy insecurity through appropriate subsidies
and creation of local renewable energy communities to support phasing out of environmentally harmful fossil fuels andtransition to clean energy for all, including the most vulnerable.

Enable whole-of-society behavioral change towards environmentally responsible practices: Enable behavioral change
at grassroots by adopting an interdisciplinary approach towards achieving environmental and human well-being. Support
action by local governments, civil society and industry champions, raise awareness and create mechanisms to engage
with the private sector. Institutionalise multi-stakeholder collaborations, participatory planning and decision-making to ensure fair, equitable and resilient transitions towards zero-carbon, resource-efficient urban growth. Facilitate civil participation in climate and environmental action through targeted subsidies that encourage zero-carbon consumer choices, solar
and other renewable energy installations and adoption of Nature-based Solutions.

02

Freshwater scarcity and flood risks are major global crises. Increased ecological vulnerability of water resources
is going to severely limit the potential of future development and result in public health issues and social conflicts.
Water should be treated as a global common good and sustainable water management should be mainstreamed toensure water security and flood resilience for future generations. We call on the G20 to collaborate with cities andprovide means to:

ENSURING
WATER
SECURITY

04.

Mainstream sustainable water management practices: Enact and implement national regulations for maximising treatment
and reuse of wastewater and promoting new and emerging technologies for water saving and water generation,
including from unconventional sources such as atmospheric water and cloud seeding. Adopt green city planning practices
that protect drainage channels and increase retention areas and pervious surfaces for recharging ground water andpreventing water logging and urban floods. Adopt regulations to ensure that polluters are held accountable for preventingor paying for their impact on water quality. Prioritise preparedness and mitigation for urban water hazards such as floods
and droughts and promote innovative means such as water plazas and water-sensitive urban design to conserve waterand develop flood resilience.

05.

Protect and revitalise water ecosystems: Create public databases of all water resources and ecosystems including
assessment of vulnerabilities and potential threats to ensure no more of these assets are lost. Adopt stringent regulatory
frameworks to protect all water bodies and associated biodiversity. Increase the application of Nature-based Solutions
including rejuvenating natural drains and traditional water systems as priority projects under various environmental/
climate funds.

06.

Strengthen effective water governance: Institutionalise mechanisms for urban and regional water governance, resource
sharing, monitoring wastage and ensuring equitable and safe access to all. Support a global campaign to raise crosssectoral awareness about the value of water and enable individual and collective water saving. Enhance participation of
cities in international forums for knowledge exchange and collaboration.

03

Increased investment and direct access to sustainable financing is critical for cities to deliver their climate ambition.
Orienting climate financing towards increasing investment needs in urban infrastructure, Nature-based Solutions andlow-emissions technologies is a huge opportunity to build the readiness of cities for climate adaptation and reduce
emissions. We call on the G20 to collaborate with cities and provide means to:

ACCELERATING
CLIMATE FINANCE

07.
08.
09.

Overhaul development finance to increase support for climate action in cities: Disincentivise investment in fossil fuel,including gas and orient focus of donors, finance institutions and public banks to set up dedicated urban climate financeinitiatives (including for small-scale urban projects) and massively step up their support for climate adaptation as a key priority. Expand the scope of multilateral and national finance to consider just transition and socio-economic aspects as partof project appraisal and include funding for technical assistance, capacity building and workforce preparedness. Establish
a Loss and Damage Fund directly accessible by cities to promote climate justice and include this proposal in the ongoing
discussions around the reform of Multilateral Development Banks.

Create an enabling environment for flow of climate finance to cities: Develop simple and standardised taxonomies andmechanisms for cities to directly access climate finance; complemented by climate information architecture for measuring
climate impacts, disclosure standards, etc. Create appropriate legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks at the national
level for strengthening fiscal autonomy, de-risking climate investments, financing just transitions, and facilitating institutional
and private investments in climate finance.

Improve city readiness for climate financing: Create new and strengthen existing technical assistance facilities to help
cities in climate-responsive project design and identification of climate financing options. Support comprehensive planningof cities to identify a pipeline of projects that can attract climate financing. Enable cities to adopt mechanisms for improving
their own revenues to attract and scale up inclusive climate investments.

04

In an ever-globalising world, understanding and strengthening local practices and economies in an inclusive manner
can provide substantial benefits for long term resilience (particularly in times of global downturns and pandemic
events). Thinking locally helps leverage traditional place-specific knowledge about sustainable building design,
resource conservation, disaster management, etc. This will require action on several fronts such as design-thinking
rationale, local economic development, boosting cultural and creative economies, protecting historical and cultural
assets, etc. We call on the G20 to collaborate with cities and provide means to:

CHAMPIONING‘LOCAL’CULTURE AND
ECONOMY

10.
11.
12.

Promote local and regional economic development and community well-being: Adopt policies for inclusive andequitable local economic development, community wealth-building, decentralised governance and boosting local
economic clusters and cooperative platforms. Promote economic diversification and regeneration for a spatially justtransition for communities affected by changes in industry or technology. Promote development norms that support
creative and cultural industries such as shared workspaces, artisan studios, etc. Create inclusive financial incentives andmechanisms for setting up and scaling of local enterprises and tourism infrastructure.

Foster a ‘sense of place’: Promote a fairly represented, equitable and diverse participation of citizens and local
stakeholders in planning, design and operation of public spaces, local events and festivals. Improve access to global
funding facilities for heritage management projects and promote the use of international platforms for knowledge sharing.

Leverage traditional knowledge and frugal innovation: Enhance the capacity and agency of local communities to implement local solutions and retain/reclaim ownership of community commons. Mainstream traditional practices and frugal
innovation through targeted research and development and creation of innovation labs and platforms for maturing andscaling up local practices. Include local knowledge and voices of indigenous groups in policy dialogue and decision making.

05

Rapid urbanisation has led to the emergence of spatial patterns like city-regions, metropolitan areas, peri-urban
growth, conurbations, urban-rural continuum etc., necessitating frameworks for strategic planning and multi-levelgovernance to ensure coordination among multiple administrative jurisdictions and ensure provision of affordable
housing and urban services to all. Cities also need to be supported in implementing urban renewal of degraded andvulnerable built environments. We call on the G20 to collaborate with cities and provide means to:

REINVENTINGFRAMEWORKS FOR
URBANGOVERNANCE AND
PLANNING

13.
14.
15.

Promote frameworks for planning and governance of emerging urban patterns: Enact legislations to support multi-level
planning (regional or cluster planning approaches) and collaborative governance, by improving multi-level cooperation
and reshaping current frameworks to better address the needs of emerging urban patterns. Promote peer learning andtechnical cooperation amongst cities. Undertake national efforts to identify strategic spatial, economic, and culturalclusters and functional urban areas and agglomerations.

Shift to a ‘strategic’ planning framework: Reform land use oriented planning to include strategies for green-blue
infrastructure, economic growth, cultural development, low-carbon mobility, net zero built environment, disaster
preparedness and affordable housing for all. Promote participatory planning, engaging all stakeholders irrespective of
ethnicity, gender, age, class, or disability. Adopt design-thinking rationale and dynamic monitoring frameworks linked
with data and analytics, whilst guaranteeing digital rights to enable course correction and realignment of strategies toachieve targeted outcomes. Adopt appropriate regulations and incentives to promote compact, mixed-use, transit-oriented
developments and facilitate citizen/ private sector-led design of sustainable built environments and public spaces.

Facilitate equitable and sustainable urban regeneration of existing areas: Formulate national guidelines for participatory
land pooling and readjustment to facilitate renewal of ageing built fabrics and vulnerable urban areas to enhance theirclimate resilience, improve quality of life, access and safety, enhance availability of services, green areas and public
spaces, and unlock latent economic potential. Formulate policies to ensure affordable housing and reduce gentrificationinduced displacement. Promote circularity in regeneration models by supporting adaptive reuse and retrofitting of goodquality and safe-for-occupancy built-stock.

06

Digitalisation and data can become an ‘equalising’ force globally by enhancing transparency and enabling
evidence-based policies and programs, provided issues of privacy and security, unequal access, barriers to data
sharing and lack of opportunities for innovation are addressed. Data is a vital public good underpinning public
infrastructure, service delivery, growth and innovation, with an impact on policies for several priorities like newjobs, community safety, affordable housing, good health and sustainable development. We call on the G20 tocollaborate with cities and provide means to:

CATALYSINGDIGITALURBAN
FUTURES

16.
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18.

Ensure that benefits of the digital economy are shared universally: Enable open and fair international cooperation
by creating shared global standards for digital infrastructure that countries and cities can implement at their respective
paces. Maximise benefits of the digital economy through provision of robust digital infrastructure, encouraging inclusivetechnologies, and providing uninterrupted and affordable internet services and open data as public goods. Promote
integrated vertical and horizontal value chains across industries (including SMEs and local cooperatives) to foster
sustainability, efficiency, and innovation. Ramp up efforts for digital literacy, especially to empower children, youth,
women, persons with disability and older persons. Provide for legal, ethical and operational frameworks to advanceinclusive digital environments. Address the impacts of digitalization on workers (replaced due to automation or skill
mismatch) through appropriate social protection strategies for facilitating technology transition in all industries andguaranteeing respect for workers’ rights. Analyse, monitor and mitigate the environmental impacts and carbon emissions
associated with digitalisation and identify environmental tradeoffs to demonstrate sustainability potential of substituting
high environmental impact digital solutions with non-digital technologies.

Facilitate data-informed decision making: Support evidence-based policy and decision-making with data as thetransparent, strategic and deliberative instrument for steering sustainable development. Formulate protocols, frameworks
and toolkits for ethical, fair and inclusive data generation, management, security and sharing. Mobilise public and private
data to meet outcomes and make cities digitally smart with predictive systems that provide advance warning about various
risks, thereby preventing loss of life and resources. Collect and utilise disaggregated data (while protecting privacy
and digital rights) on multiple parameters like gender, age, and spatial distribution and others in the design and impact
assessment of policies and programmes to ensure inclusiveness. Adopt multi-level strategies for managing and interpreting
Big Data through application of human resources as well as AI to respond to the needs and priorities of cities.

Encourage digital innovations: Provide avenues for public and private investments in development of digital innovations
and technologies, at all stages of incubation, maturation and scale-up. Ensure space allocation, infrastructure and services
to innovators, start-ups and gig economies, in particular those developed and/or operated by women and youth.
Encourage interoperability and open, transparent, non-discriminatory data platforms to eliminate functional bottlenecks
and maximise the benefits of innovations.

105

ENDORSEMENTS

This Communique is endorsed by the Mayors and City Leaders of the following U20 Cities
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Ahmedabad
Amsterdam
Barcelona
Bengaluru
BerlinBuenos Aires
Delhi
Durban (eThekwini)
Istanbul
Izmir
Jakarta
Johannesburg
LisbonLondonLos Angeles
Madrid

17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32

Mexico City
Milan
Montreal
Mumbai
New York City
Osaka
Paris
Rio de Janeiro
Rome
Rotterdam
Sao Paulo
Seoul
Strasbourg
SydneyTokyo
TshwaneAnd by the Mayors and City Leaders of the following U20 Observer Cities
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43

Amman
Cobourg
Despeñaderos
Dhaka North
Dhulikhel
FukuokaGlasgow
Kitchener
LusakaMataleMontevideo

44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54

Narayanganj
Port Louis
PortlandRajshahi
RecifeShahin Shahr
SkopjeThimpuTopagaUngheniUtrecht

55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71

Agartala
Agra
Ahmednagar
Aligarh
Amritsar
Aurangabad
AyodhyaBareilly
Bhavnagar
BhopalBhubaneshwar
Chandigarh
Coimbatore
Dehradun
Dhule
Gandhinagar
Ghaziabad

72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88

Gorakhpur
Guwahati
GwaliorIndoreJabalpurJaipurJalgaonJamnagarJhansi
Junagadh
Kakinada
KanpurLucknow
Ludhiana
MaduraiMathuraMoradabad

89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105

Pimpri Chinchwad
Prayagraj
Pune
RaipurRajkotRanchi
Sagar
Satna
Solapur
Srinagar
Surat
Thane
Tirupati
UjjainVadodara
Varanasi
VishakhapatnamP R I N T E D O N R E C YC L E D PA P E R