THE POWER
OF OUR NETWORKIN A CHANGINGWORLDThe ICLEI São Paulo Strategic
Vision 2024 - 2030

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4ABOUT ICLEI - LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9Our Global Leadership .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  11
ICLEI Global Executive Committee 2024-2027. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12
ICLEI Council 2024-2027.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 14

PUBLISHERICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability e.V.
Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse 7, 53113 Bonn, Germany
https://iclei.org/

Our Staff .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  18
THE ICLEI SÃO PAULO STRATEGIC VISION 2024 - 2030. . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Navigating the Decisive Decade.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  24

COPYRIGHT

Our ICLEI Commitment: Building Sustainable, Resilient, Inclusive, Safe Cities,
Towns and Regions for all.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 26

©2024 ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability e.V. All rights reserved. The
ICLEI World Secretariat holds the copyright of this publication, including text,
analyses, logos and layout designs. Requests to reproduce or to quote material
in part or in full should be sent to media@iclei.org. ICLEI encourages use anddissemination of this report, and permission to reproduce this material without
modification will usually be permitted without charge for non-commercial use.

Sustainable Development Through Our Five Pathways.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  30

CITATION

Making Global Goals a Local Reality. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 33
Equitable development . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 35
Zero emission development .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 38
Nature-based development. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 40

This publication should be cited as: “ICLEI - Local Governments for
Sustainability, 2024. The Power of Our Network in a Changing World: The ICLEISão Paulo Strategic Vision 2024 - 2030. Bonn, Germany.”

PHOTO CREDITSCircular development. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 42
Resilient development. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 44
GLOBAL ADVOCACY FOR OUR SHARED INTERESTS. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 46

Photos from: ©Shutterstock (pp. 7, 8-9, 25, 56), ©ICLEI (pp. 17, 34, 46-47),©Unsplash (pp. 21, 29, 51, 52-53, 55), ©City of São Paulo (p. 22-23)

2

CONCLUSION.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 52

3

INTRODUCTION
We are facing huge changes
in our urban world.
Additionally, we cannot forget United
Nations Secretary-General António
Guterres’ landmark 2020 speech on
the state of the planet in which hesaid that making peace with nature
will be “the defining task of the 21st
century.” 2023’s record-breaking heatwaves, floods, and storms serve asa stark warning of what lies ahead if
we do not make peace with nature.
Pressure on our urban infrastructureand services continues to increase
markedly as urbanization accelerates.
As one example of future scenarios
based on currently available scientificmodels, the 2024 UNDP trends report
estimates that by 2050, the number of“climate migrants” will range anywhere
between 25 million to 1 billion.

In an era of unprecedented global
shifts, the communities and leadersof cities, towns and regions stand at
the frontline, facing complex, multifaceted challenges, including devastatingclimate change, ecosystem collapse,
shocking pollution, demographic shifts
and rapid technological evolution.
These issues not only threaten the
fabric of urban life but also underscorethe urgent need for decisive action
across all levels of government to foster resilience, address systemic inequities and harness innovation. Only
through tenacity, expanded collaboration and serious political commitment
can we bring about the transformationnecessary for a sustainable, inclusive,
zero emission and resilient future.

We are facing huge changes in oururban world. Local and regional
governments, supported by decadesstrong networks like ICLEI, are pivotal
in transforming existing and emerging
urban centers into beacons of opportunity, inclusion, learning, innovation
and, most critically, sustainability.

Building on previous reports, theWorld Economic Forum’s 2024 Global
Risks Report identifies climate change,
biodiversity loss and natural resource
shortages as the top risks facing
humanity over the next decade. It alsoemphasizes the interconnection ofclimate change and biodiversity loss
- significant existential threats thatdemand immediate and concerted
efforts to avert irreversible damage tosocieties and ecosystems, with the very
real possibility to significantly alter “lifeas we know it” for all of humanity.

By spearheading policies and initiatives that tackle unsustainable production and consumption, facilitate socialand cultural engagement and inclusion
for all, transform and strengthen new,green local economies, and address

4

the impacts of climate change and natural resource degradation, our cities,
towns and regions can and must catalyze meaningful change - ambitiously
and rapidly.

leaders recognizing their influential
role and responsibility in steering theworld towards sustainability throughmultilevel governance and multi-stakeholder partnerships.

The path forward is not easy, with cities and regions facing the day-to-day
realities of structural challenges andinequity. However, by building on past
successes and strengthening existing
frameworks and initiatives, a sustainable urban future where communities
and nature thrive is possible. Indeed,
many of ICLEI Members have shownthat such pathways toward sustainability are not only feasible, but are
already well-advanced, positively andfundamentally reshaping our sharedurban future.

ICLEI works with our growing networkof local and regional governments
to elevate local voices, drive change
towards more ambitious sustainability policy and legal frameworks, foster
equity, diversity and inclusion, mobilize financing, invest in active local to
global partnerships and build broadbased coalitions to advance local andregional action.
Through the expedited and holistic
implementation of ICLEI’s five sustainable development pathways - equitable development, zero emission
development, nature-based development, circular development and resilient development - the ICLEI São Paulo
Strategic Vision 2024-2030 will play a
critical role in accelerating actions oflocal and regional governments in the
ICLEI network.

Over the past decade, starting in 2012
with Rio+20, the sustainability community has witnessed transformative
milestones, notably with the Paris
Climate Agreement, the KunmingMontreal Biodiversity Framework,
affirming commitments to the
Sustainable Development Goals andthe Urban Agenda as well as adopting
a more holistic view of urbanization.
This period marked a departure fromisolated efforts, highlighting the interconnectivity between environmental,
developmental and urbanization challenges, and stressing the need for ajust transition that respects our finite
planetary boundaries.

Together with national governments,
our valued partners and the multilateralcommunity, we, the local and regional
governments of the ICLEI network, arecommitted to urgently moving ahead
with courage, care and commitment toensure that all of humanity has a future—much of which will be in cities andurban areas— that is worth looking
forward to.

The global acknowledgment of local
and regional governments as key
partners in these endeavors has
strengthened
significantly,
with

5MESSAGE FROM
GINO VAN BEGIN,
ICLEI SECRETARY
GENERAL
In many ways, these cities and regions,and the communities who call themhome, are determining the present andfuture of the world. They do this in a true
multilevel governance fashion, working
hand-in-hand with national governments and the international community,
understanding the value of partnership,peer-to-peer learning and community.

When the ICLEI network last released
our strategic vision in 2021, we werestill in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, a catastrophically destabilizing
event that affected every corner of the
globe.
But hovering behind that catastropheis the specter of global climate change,
biodiversity loss and unsustainable
trends that are already destabilizing
our world.

While ICLEI uses the full power of
our network to ensure that local sustainability delivers on the goals andaspirations of the global sustainable
development agenda, we continue toextend and measure our impact on the
ground through programs, projects
and initiatives.

The ICLEI network of local and regional
governments committed to sustainability is a counterpoint to thesethreats. We see local and regionalsustainable development as one of
the key solutions to so many of ourplanetary challenges.

ICLEI is and has always been committed to creating global change
through work that starts on the local
level. Together, we must demonstratevisionary leadership, lead by example,
share our knowledge actively andopenly and speak with a united voice.
Our São Paulo Strategic Vision 2024 2030 is a critical part of that promise.

Through the ICLEI São Paulo Strategic
Vision 2024 - 2030, local and regional
governments of the ICLEI network set
a way towards the transformation tosustainable development. This vision,
set forth in the voice of our local andregional governments, creates apicture of what is needed for a truly
sustainable urban world.

The ICLEI São Paulo Strategic Vision, set
forth in the voice of our local and regional
governments, creates a picture of what isneeded for a truly sustainable urban world.

Our flourishing network works withmore than 2,500 local and regional
governments worldwide, representing
small, large, and fast-growing cities,
vast metropolitan areas, provinces
and regions. ICLEI, as a network, IS
the diversity of the urban world andthe challenges and opportunities thatcome with it.

The cities, towns and regions that area part of the ICLEI network are paving
the way on so many fronts, demonstrating sustainable solutions thatare shaping our future urban world.
Together they show the power, andabsolute necessity, of local action.

6

7

ABOUT ICLEI - LOCALGOVERNMENTS FORSUSTAINABILITYto complex challenges, from rapid
urbanization and climate change toecosystem degradation and inequity.

ICLEI – Local Governments for
Sustainability is a global network
working with more than 2,500 local
and regional governments committed
to sustainable urban development.
Active in 125+ countries, ICLEI influences sustainability policy and drives
local action for zero emission, naturebased, equitable, resilient and circulardevelopment.

Our Members and team of experts
work together through peer exchange,
partnerships and capacity building tocreate systemic change for urban sustainability. ICLEI creates connections
among the local, regional, national andglobal governmental levels. We advocate for robust national and global
sustainability policies that reflect theinterests of local and regional governments and their communities.

ICLEI brings a strong urban component to national and global sustainability policies and translates thesepolicies into action. We make sustainability an integral part of urban development and create systemic change
in urban areas through practical, integrated solutions. We help cities, towns
and regions anticipate and respond

Through our collective efforts to build
a sustainable urban world, ICLEI
is shifting the trajectory of global
development.

OUR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
championing sustainability looks
like, galvanizing local and regional
governments in calls to action, pioneering and piloting initiatives, building cross-institutional relationships
and encouraging ICLEI Members toconsistently work in the pursuit ofsustainable development. As ICLEI
champions, the governance members
actively engage in building relationships with significant internationalorganizations and institutions, brokering opportunities with new partners and speaking at key international
events. The role of our governanceleaders serving as powerful advocatesin the multilateral global sustainability arena has been an important andpowerful component of ICLEI’s work
since our founding. Our leaders bringthe concerns, needs and challenges of
local and subnational governments
to the forefront, while pressing forincreased sustainability ambition on
global and national levels.

The ICLEI Council serves as the representative body of ICLEI Membership at
regional and global levels, standing torepresent the sustainability efforts oflocal and regional governments worldwide. They play an important role in
ICLEI’s global advocacy strategy andserve as political representatives for
key thematic sectors of ICLEI’s work.
Governancemembers
includeGovernors, Mayors and Deputy orVice Mayors or elected councilors.
These leaders stand as candidates
for ICLEI leadership and are elected
democratically by ICLEI’s Membershipevery three years. They guide theorganization’s strategic direction by
the adoption of three-year strategicplans, statute amendments and may
have oversight of ICLEI operations.
ICLEI governance members have astrong influence in role modeling toother local and regional leaders what

ICLEI Presidium

PRESIDENTKATRINSTIERNFELDTJAMMEH

Mayor, City of Malmö,
SwedenICLEI Member local and regional governments
ICLEI Network local and regional governments
10

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT

VICE-PRESIDENTMINNA ARVEMARJORIE
KAUFFMANN

Mayor, City of Turku,
FinlandSecretary of State
for Environment andInfrastructure, Stateof Rio Grande do Sul,
Brazil| as of 1 June 2024
11

VICE-PRESIDENT

MOHAMEDSEFIANI

Mayor, Municipalityof Chefchaouen,
MoroccoICLEI GLOBAL EXECUTIVECOMMITTEE 2024-2027

ICLEI GLOBAL EXECUTIVECOMMITTEE 2024-2027

MOHAMED SEFIANIDONG YEON KIMMINNA ARVE

AFRICA

EAST ASIAEUROPEINNOVATIVE FINANCE

Governor, Gyeonggi-do
Province, Republic of Korea

CIRCULAR DEVELOPMENT

Mayor, Municipality ofChefchaouen, Morocco

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
TRANSITION

Mayor, Municipalityof Del Carmen,
Philippines

Mayor, City of North
Miami, FL, USA

CLIMATE ACTION
GOVERNANCE

Lord Mayor, Federal
City of Bonn, Germany

AXEL SCHMIDTGRAELKATRIN STIERNFELDTJAMMEH

DIANAÜRGE-VORSATZRESILIENTDEVELOPMENT

CLIMATE ACTIONSUPPORTURBAN RESEARCH &INNOVATION

Deputy Mayor,
Municipality of Los
Cabos, Mexico

Mayor, Municipality
of Niterói, Brazil

SUSTAINABLE, CIRCULAR
AND INNOVATIONPROCUREMENTREGINA BAKITTE
NAKAZZI MUSOKEFELIX CREUTZIGADVISOR - CLIMATEACTION GOVERNANCE

Head of working group
Land Use, Infrastructure andTransport, Technical Universityof Berlin, Germany

MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA
AND THE CARIBBEAN

OCEANIA

Mayor, City of Fort
Collins, CO, USA

Councillor, City ofSydney, Australia

MARJORIE
KAUFFMANN

SMT. NAYNABENPEDHADIYA

MAR-LEN ABIGAIL
S. BINAY

SOUTH AMERICA

SOUTH ASIA

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Secretary of State
for Environment andInfrastructure, State of Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil

Mayor, Rajkot Municipal
Corporation, India

12

KATJA DÖRNERSUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

IRENE GALINDOROMÁN

HY WILLIAM CHANNORTH AMERICAREGIONAL SEATALIX DESULME

BIODIVERSITY

Mayor, Hang Tuah Jaya
Municipal Council,
Malaysia

JENI ARNDTICLEI GEXCOM ROLE:

ALFREDO CORO

Mayor, City of Turku,
Finland

JORGE ALEJANDROALDANA BARDALES

Mayor, Tegucigalpa,
Municipality of the Central
District, Honduras

DATIN SAPIAHBINTI HARONINNOVATIVE FINANCE

Mayor, City of Makati,
Philippines

THEMATIC PORTFOLIO SEAT

Mayor, City of Malmö,
SwedenVice Chair, IPCC Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate
Change, Hungary

ADVISOR - DIGITALIZATION

Mayor, Nansana
Municipality, Uganda

ICLEI GEXCOM ROLE:REGIONAL SEAT

13

THEMATIC PORTFOLIO SEATICLEI COUNCIL 2024-2027

ICLEI COUNCIL 2024-2027

AfricaMexico, Central America & the Caribbean

ERNESTARTHUR

Mayor,
Cape Coast
Metropolitan
Assembly, Ghana

REGINABAKITTENAKAZZI

Mayor, Nansana
Municipality,
UgandaCHILANDOCHITANGALA
Mayor, Lusaka
City Council,
ZambiaMANUELDE ARAÚJO

Mayor, Quelimane
Municipal Council,
Mozambique

MOHAMEDSEFIANI

Mayor,
Municipality ofChefchaouen,
MoroccoEast Asia

LIOU HER-RAN
Deputy Mayor,
New Taipei City
Government,
Chinese Taipei

Mayor, City of
Turku, Finland

Minister, Grand
Bahama Island,
Bahamas

MAURICIO
VILA DOSAL

Governor,
Governmentof the State ofYucatán, Mexico

JORGE
RICARDOALEJANDROQUIÑÓNEZ
ALDANA BARDALES LEMUS
Mayor, Tegucigalpa,
Municipality of theCentral District,Honduras

Mayor,
Municipality of
Guatemala City,
GuatemalaBARBARABUFFALOEJILLIANHUDGINS

IAN MCVEY

Board Member,
City of Fredericton,
NB, Canada

Sustainability
Manager,
Regional
Municipalityof Durham,
ON, Canada

NUATALINELMESANNA
REYNOLDSAMANDA
STONE

North America

SANGHAN KIM

Vice Mayor, Seoul
Metropolitan City,
Republic of Korea

WEISHU LI

Vice Mayor,
Changchun City,
China

KOJI MATSUI
Mayor, Kyoto
City, JapanDONG YEON KIM
Governor,
Gyeonggi-do
Province, Republicof Korea

EuropeMINNA ARVE

GINGER M.
MOXEY

NIKI
ARMACOST

Mayor, Villageof Hastings-onHudson, NY, USA

JENI ARNDTMayor, City ofFort Collins, CO,USA

Mayor, City ofColumbia, MO,
USA

Oceania

MAIDERETXEBARRIAGARCIA

Mayor,
Municipality ofVitoria-Gasteiz,Spain

MARTIN HORN
Lord Mayor,
City of Freiburg
im Breisgau,
Germany14

LASSE
FRIMANDJENSEN

Mayor, Aalborg
Municipality,
DenmarkLUÍSA
SALGUEIROMayor,
Municipalityof Matosinhos,
Portugal

HY WILLIAM
CHAN

Councillor, Cityof Sydney, NSW,
Australia

FRANCIS F. B.
GREEN

Chair, Kiribati
Local Government
Association(KiLGA), Kiribati

Lord Mayor, Cityof Newcastle,
NSW, Australia

15

Lord Mayor,
Hobart City
Council,
Tasmania,
Australia

Councillor, Cityof Yarra, VIC,
Australia

ICLEI COUNCIL 2024-2027

ICLEI
Council
Meeting, 2022,
ICLEI’s
SeniorManagement
Malmö, Sweden

South America

GERMANVLADIMIRCHONG RIOS

Mayor, Provincial
Municipality of
Maynas, Peru

AXEL SCHMIDTGRAELMayor,
Municipality ofNiterói, Brazil

PABLO JAVKIN
Mayor,
Municipalityof Rosario,
Argentina

MARJORIE
KAUFFMANN

State Secretary for
Environment andInfrastructure,
State of Rio
Grande do Sul,
BrazilCRISTIANEDUARDOZAMORA MATUTE

Mayor, Autonomousand Decentralized
Municipal Government of the Cuenca
Canton, Ecuador

South Asia

M. ANILKUMAR
Mayor, Kochi
Municipal
Corporation,
India

UGYEN DORJI
Mayor, Cityof Thimphu,
BhutanSALINAHAYAT IVY

Mayor,Narayanganj
City Corporation,
Bangladesh

SMT.
NAYNABEN
PEDHADIYA

Mayor, Rajkot
Municipal
Corporation,
India

BHIM PRASADDHUNGANA
President,
Municipal
Association of
Nepal (MuAN),
Nepal

Southeast Asia

DATIN SAPIAHBINTI HARON

Mayor, Hang
Tuah Jaya
Municipal
Council, Malaysia

MAR-LENABIGAIL S.
BINAY

Mayor, City of
Makati, Philippines

ALFREDO CORO

Mayor, Municipalityof Del Carmen,
Philippines

16

17

OUR STAFF
capacity building in the fields ofgovernance, finance and economics,
climate action, resilience and adaptation, sustainable mobility and freight,
biodiversity and nature, health, water,With 600+ specialized staff in our
twenty-four offices around the world,
ICLEI provides on-the-ground support to our cities, towns and regions,and offers technical assistance andBritish Columbia Office
Victoria, Canada

World Secretariat
Bonn, Germany

Canada Office
Toronto, Canada

USA OfficeDenver, USA
Quebec OfficeMontreal, Canada

Brussels Office
Brussels, Belgium

multilevel governance and cooperation, human rights and equity, culture
and heritage, data and monitoring,
innovation and research, communications and knowledge management.

food systems, circular development,
procurement, digitalization, sustainable energy, energy access, coastalmanagement, small island developing
states, global advocacy and diplomacy,

Berlin Office
Berlin, Germany

Beijing Office
Beijing, China

European Secretariat
Freiburg, Germany

Korea OfficeGyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea

Nepal OfficeKathmandu, Nepal

South Asia Secretariat
New Delhi, India

Bangladesh OfficeDhaka, Bangladesh

Colombia OfficeMedellin, Canada
South America Secretariat
São Paulo, Brazil

Japan Office
Tokyo, Japan
Kaohsiung Capacity Center
Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei

South India Center
Hyderabad, India

Mexico, Central America& Caribbean Secretariat
Mexico City, Mexico

East Asia Secretariat
Seoul, Republic of Korea

South East Asia Secretariat
Manila, Philippines

Asia-Pacific Office
Bangkok, Thailand
Indonesia Project Office
Jakarta, Indonesia

Argentina Office
Rosario, Argentina
ICLEI Africa Foundation
Port Louis, Mauritius

Regional Secretariat

Africa Secretariat
Cape Town, South Africa

Sub-regional Office

Oceania Secretariat
Melbourne, Australia

Country Office
Project Office18

19

ICLEI’s Senior Management

GINO VAN
BEGIN

KOBIE BRANDEDGAR
VILLASEÑOR
FRANCORODRIGODE OLIVEIRAPERPETUO

VICTORINO
AQUITANIAYISHENG YANGYEONHEE PARKSAHARNAZ
MIRZAZAD

Secretary General,
ICLEI World
Secretariat

Regional Director,
ICLEI Mexico,Central America& Caribbean
Secretariat

Executive Director,
ICLEI Kaohsiung
Capacity Center

Deputy Secretary
General; Regional
Director, ICLEI
Africa Secretariat;
Acting Regional
Director,
ICLEI Oceania
Secretariat

Regional Director,
ICLEI SouthAmericaSecretariat

Executive Director,
ICLEI Korea Office

EMANI KUMAR

Deputy Secretary
General,Regional Director,
ICLEI South Asia
Secretariat

Regional Director,
ICLEI Southeast
Asia Secretariat

ICLEI’s Senior Management | As of 1 June 2024

SHU ZHU

Regional Director,
ICLEI East Asia
Secretariat

MEGAN
MEANEY

Executive Director,
ICLEI Canada
OfficeWOLFGANGTEUBNER

Regional Director,
ICLEI European
Secretariat

TOGO UCHIDA

Executive Director,
ICLEI Japan Office

Executive Director,
ICLEI USA Office20

21

THE ICLEI SÃO PAULOSTRATEGIC VISION
2024 - 2030

NAVIGATING THE
DECISIVE DECADEOur Opportunity Ahead
Development Goals (2016) and the
New Urban Agenda (2016) – for which
we advocated intensively over the last
decades – we must now, more thanever, implement the global sustainable
development agenda in collaboration
with all levels of government, theprivate sector, academia and research,and civil society.

Our world today stands on the precipice of an unprecedented global
emergency in which we are facing theaccelerating forces of the climate crisis,
rapid environmental degradation andsocietal upheaval. We are witnessing
massive human-induced loss of
species, severe land degradation tolarge-scale demographic shifts andincreased fragility of our ever-expanding urban infrastructures so starkly
manifested in our urban landscapes.

History has shown that under visionary,kind and inclusive leadership, coupledwith the sheer determination of thecommunities who live there, our cities
and towns can swiftly course correct.
They can rebuild, transform, ignitechange and reinvent themselves into
beacons of hope. They can become
engines of change that can set themselves and entire nations on a transformative path towards sustainability
where people are living in harmony
with nature and with each other.

Our cities and towns remain bustling,creative bastions of opportunity, liveliness, innovation and social cohesion.
They are indeed places of hope andprosperity. Our task as local leaders
and those who work with them is toprevent these sanctuaries of hopefrom becoming battlegrounds where
socio-economic disparities, environmental destruction and resource
depletion converge.

We find ourselves midway throughhumanity’s decisive decade. Many of
our global goals have hard deadlines
set for 2030. Most of the targets are noton track to reach these goals in time, if
at all. What we do over the span of thenext few years will, in so many ways,
determine the future of life on earth.
The consequence of failure to act willchange life as we know it.

The imperative for the leaders andexperts in our local and regional
governments to enact swift, transformative actions across the spectrum of
urban life has never been more evident than right now. As recent events
have shown us so clearly, it is often
the most vulnerable of our urban
populations that feel these impacts
first and most strongly.

For society as a whole, and especiallyfor those governments and theirleaders closest to our communities on
the ground, it is imperative to respond
immediately and decisively. We must
dismantle systemic inequities andpoverty and harness, co-create andethically implement technologicalinnovations to ensure a liveable, andindeed a thriving, urban future fortoday and tomorrow —for all.

With the start of the Decade of
Action in 2021 and through the UN
sustainability frameworks in place
towards 2030 and 2050, notably theParis Climate Agreement (2015),
the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity
Plan (2022), additional climate andnature commitments, the Sustainable

24

25

OUR ICLEI COMMITMENT
Sustainable, resilient, inclusive, safe cities,
towns and regions for all
When a group of forward-thinking
cities founded ICLEI in 1990, they took
action for sustainability, well before
sustainable development was the predominant model for change. The entry
point was protecting and conserving
the environment. Since then, ICLEI has
evolved to focus on mainstreaming
sustainable development in all aspectsof urban life - interacting with all who
congregate, live, trade, work, co-create
and recreate in and around our cities,
towns and regions.

shared journey towards a sustainable
and equitable urban world.

There is power in our network: beinga part of ICLEI nurtures our collective
potential for creating and enabling
positive change. Our ICLEI network
reaches well over 2,500 cities, towns
and regions and is widely recognized
as a leading organization with visionary
leaders and experts acting worldwide.
We are deeply united in our commitment to inspire, learn from and workwith each other and others on our

Guided by our five pathways towards
sustainable development - equitabledevelopment, zero emission development, nature-based development,
circular development and resilient
development - our overall goal is tosignificantly scale up and expand thecommitments of local and regional
governments to create sustainable,
resilient, inclusive and safe cities,
towns and regions around the world.

We are optimistic and energized,
understanding how cities, towns andregions can be triggers for change,
how they can transform rapidly andsystemically, each on its own unique
journey, but underscored and encouraged by the actions of others like themand by multilevel governance systems
that both enable and necessitate collective local action for global change.

Our overall goal is to significantly scale up
and expand the commitments of local andregional governments to create sustainable,
resilient, inclusive and safe cities, towns andregions around the world.

26

To do this, we, the ICLEI network, commit to:•

Enable a massive and collective
whole-of-society and whole-ofgovernment shift towards sustainable development in andamong our jurisdictions, entrenching sustainability as a fundamental
component of all local, national andglobal development and cooperation in and across jurisdictions.

•

Make our sustainable development strategies more fundamental, systemic, just, inclusive
and equitable. In doing so, wewill make profound decisions in
the long-term interests of bothpeople and the planet that will
ensure the resilience of systems
and approaches.

••

Celebrate the diversity of thecommunities we represent andensure that the distinct voices
and interests within them areheard. We will prioritize diversity
and inclusivity across our administrations and communities. Diversity
in race, color, religion, creed,gender, age, physical and mental
abilities, and sexual orientation isa source of strength, innovationand new ideas. We will engage andinclude disadvantaged and marginalized populations and age groups.

•

Foster strong partnerships toadvance global sustainability.
Delivering on the global sustainable development goals requires
coordinated action across national,
regional and local governments,
multilateral organizations, international agencies, research anddevelopment institutions, as wellas civil society. We will push to
define sustainable development
as a joint effort, positioning alllevels of government to rapidly andboldly advance global sustainability
goals and seek support for ouractions, including finance, capacity
building, research, innovation andco-creation.

•

Strengthen cooperation at aregional scale. Cities, towns,
counties and regions are inextricably linked with, and depend upon,
the inter-connection of urban,
peri-urban and rural areas, especially considering the ecosystems
and services that we all depend
on for our health, wellbeing andDrive a new shared vision forsustainable and dignified livingthat respects planetary needs andboundaries, addresses unabatedconsumption and production patterns and entrenched inequalities,
breaks the chains of structural
poverty, and actively challenges thestatus quo.

• Bring the voice of our communities to the global sustainable
development
agenda.
Local,
national and global policy must be
shaped from the ground up anddesigned from the outset to be
implementable at the local level. We
are the governmental level closest to
our communities, and it is our duty
to engage with the people within
our communities, listen to, andunderstand their perspectives, andto spread their messages globally.

27

and use the latest scientific insights
informed by local needs and realities for effective sustainability
strategies at the city and regional
levels. We need fit-for-purpose
data, information and knowledge.

livelihoods, such as energy, water,
circular economy strategies, andtransport of goods and people.
•••

Build and make sustainable infrastructure available for all throughscaling up and catalyzing public andprivate financing sources and creating enabling environments andneeded fiscal and technical capacities at the local level in order tomake these accessible for sustainable urban infrastructure projects.

• Drive sustainability innovationand create spaces for co-creationand new solutions. Participatory
planning and development hasentered a new age of co-designand co-creation. We will include
sustainability innovation in our highimpact sustainability actions acrossall sectors, working closely withall stakeholders - we will be bold,creative, and think outside the box.

Use our public procurement
potential as an instrument toaccelerate the uptake of sustainable and innovative products andservices, and address issues suchas working conditions, the marginalization of vulnerable groups,
child labor and fair trade practices.

By applying these principles within
a local and regional context, we
can begin to reverse detrimental
practices, bridge divides, restore
our relationship with the planet andcreate healthier, more decent andjust, liveable cities, towns and regions
around our world.

Contribute to advancing researchon sustainability. Local andregional governments can guideand inform collaborative research

Every year, ICLEI undertakes hundreds of activities, alongside our local
and regional government Members, to deliver sustainable development
through our five pathways of zero emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development. Explore our activities here.

28

29

SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUR FIVE PATHWAYS
future they have envisioned forthemselves by developing integrated
solutions and creating change acrosswhole urban systems. While an activity
or implemented project may be primarily driven by a single or few pathways, the goal is always to implement
projects and initiatives in such waysthat they generate impact across all
five pathways.

As a compass to direct our actions ina rapidly changing world and to transform our cities, towns and regions, wewill drive action through five critical,
strategic and interlinked pathways:
equitable development, zero emission
development, nature-based development, circular development andresilient development. These pathways
are the basis for sustainable urban
development.

ICLEI further accelerates change by
supporting our Members in enhancing their capacities and access toenabling factors such as finance,
innovation, political leadership andgood governance, which are critical
for transforming ambitious plans into
inspiring sustainable actions.

At the local and regional levels, ICLEI
drives change along these five interconnected pathways that intersect all
sectors in our communities. By following these interconnected pathways,
cities, towns and regions worldwide
can advance toward the sustainable

EQUITABLE
DEVELOPMENT

ZERO EMISSIONDEVELOPMENTCIRCULARDEVELOPMENT

NATURE-BASEDDEVELOPMENTRESILIENTDEVELOPMENT

30

MAKING GLOBAL GOALS...

...A LOCAL REALITY

The 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United
Nations in 2015, to which ICLEI’s
advocacy efforts contributed, aim fora transformational change for people,
prosperity, planet, partnership andpeace by 2030.

has been painfully slow. More of thesame will not bring success by 2030.
Indeed, we have backslid in addressing
poverty, hunger, health, education,energy resilience (including access,security and poverty) and critical environmental targets.

governments are not able to raise therequired finance and investment. Morethan USD 1 trillion is missing each year
for urgently needed urban investments. The needs for the coming
decades amount to at least several
trillion dollars.

The SDGs encompass a comprehensive
array of areas to be addressed in theachievement of global sustainability;
however, as we conclude the first halfof the envisioned 15 years of SDG
implementation in 2023, progress

Local and regional governments are
essential to driving the transition toa sustainable present and future.
Delivering on the 17 SDGs requires
significant human and infrastructure
investment. Yet many subnational

The five ICLEI pathways towards
sustainable development, with theirintegrated approach, carry the aims of
the SDGs and the global agendas, andthey are excellent enablers for cities
to find entry points for localizing SDGs

in their jurisdictions in the pursuit ofsustainability and overall quality of life.
By aligning implementation with
the SDGs’ underpinning principles,
properly embedded in policy, as wellas institutional and regulatory frameworks, we can collectively accelerate
progress towards the vision of the2030 Agenda and show that multilateral and in-country cooperation cansolve the urgent, intertwined global
challenges. The remaining years leading to 2030 must be a turning point.

ZERO EMISSION DEVELOPMENT

NATURE-BASED DEVELOPMENTCIRCULAR DEVELOPMENT

By promoting low-carbon technologies, sustainable energy and mobility,
local governments can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
while improving urban quality of life.

Emphasizing green and blue
infrastructure and biodiversity
conservation by mainstreaming
biodiversity and nature-based
solutions, and thereby help cities
and regions contribute to global
biodiversity and ecosystem
restoration goals of living inharmony with nature.

Circular economy practices
in cities not only reduce resource
consumption and waste but also
mitigate emissions through sustainableproduction and consumption patterns.

EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENTRESILIENT DEVELOPMENT

Prioritizing social inclusion and economic
opportunities for all is fundamental toensuring that climate action benefits
vulnerable populations.

Building resilient communities
and infrastructure safeguards
against climate impacts while
fostering sustainable development.

EQUITABLE
DEVELOPMENT
Equitable development seeks to foster just, inclusive and happy communities
in line with the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. Equitable development addresses
the systemic and historical causes of injustice and exclusion by identifying andacting on power imbalances, dismantling existing spatial, social and environmental inequalities, and preventing new and unintended patterns of inequality
and exclusion from arising because of environmental solutions. Equitable development also safeguards the natural support systems for human life, ensuringthat the natural and built environment in and around our communities improves
livability, safety, and health. This pathway acknowledges the diversity of local
and regional conditions and the critical importance of taking community-led
approaches as a means of addressing diverse needs, challenges and aspirations.
Finally, equitable development values trust, care, transparency and solidarity as
the foundation for local and regional environmental action.
ICLEI’S GLOBAL OFFERING FOR EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT
The Malmö Commitment is among ICLEI’s global offerings for local andregional governments that embeds social equity at the core of local sustainable development. The initiative gathers local and regional governments thatcommit to this urban transformation following a four-step process: identify
the challenges, monitor social equity indicators, report the progress andenhance the effort taken through neighboring communities. Globally, ICLEI
also offers policy strategies, technical specialists and capacity building to local
and regional governments on equity and inclusion in planning, resilienceand adaptation, multilevel governance and cooperation, sustainable mobility
and freight, circular development, procurement, digitalization, sustainableenergy, energy access, and urban systems.

ICLEI’S EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT IN 2024

79

650+ 38

Equitable
Development
Activities

fromcities, towns
and regions

where Equitable Development
is the primary pathway

34

involved in the activities

35

countries

EQUITABLE
DEVELOPMENTEQUITABLE
DEVELOPMENTTO ACHIEVE EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT, THE ICLEI NETWORK WILL:•

Advocate for a just, accessible and sustainable energy system for all,particularly those who may be adversely affected by the transition, such as
those facing a lack of energy access, energy poverty or precarious livelihoods,
women, and the elderly.

•

Adopt people-centered mobility approaches and solutions by promoting ajust mobility transition that places at the center road safety, just access tourban mobility, fair and dignified transport jobs and climate-friendly and justmobility companies.

•

Embrace gender mainstreaming approaches in our policy-making andrecognize intersectional and gender-specific vulnerabilities. We will prioritizeintergenerational dialogue and learning between youth, adults and elderly,
benefiting both from the energy, knowledge and urgency of youth in driving
change and the precious knowledge, experience and wisdom of elders. We will
ensure the formal participation of youth in decision-making at the subnational
level, and support young leaders to grow and contribute to improving andsafeguarding their societies and their futures.

••

Protect the fundamental rights of all to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. We recognize the potential for sustainability interventions to haveunintended consequences that can perpetuate inequality and unjust systems
and will actively endeavor to mitigate these risks.
Pursue equitable access to resources and services for all by establishing climate-resilient infrastructure systems that provide affordable and proximate
access to clean water, safe sanitation, nutritious food, sustainable energy, andinternet. To promote community health and wellbeing, we will plan for andfacilitate integrated settlements that ensure quality healthcare, education,
housing, clean air, productive soils and access to dignified livelihoods. We will
ensure that all residents have proximate access to green amenities and support the role of culture, heritage, and spirituality as a vital aspect of achieving
sustainable urban development.

• Prioritize policies, initiatives and public investments that support meaningful
participation of residents, including marginalized groups, and strengthen therole of communities in implementing sustainable change. We acknowledge that
all members of society are knowledge-bearers, and our decision-making processes will elevate and engage with multiple forms of knowledge and evidence,
including those of indigenous peoples, residents, researchers, governments,
community-led initiatives and civil society, artists, entrepreneurs, and more.
•Work closely with our community partners, including workers, unions andcivil society, to enable a just transition for all. In the face of major shifts in
our economies and labor markets, we will implement adapted and lifelong
educational programs, which are needed to train our communities and allow
them to thrive even in uncertain times.

•

Promote peace, security and stability by acknowledging and working to
reduce the social, economic and environmental determinants of shocks,
stressors, conflict and migration. We will support policies and programs
that actively reduce climate stressors that may lead or are causing climate
migration and forced displacements. We will do so building on climate justiceprinciples that address global systemic inequalities. We will welcome refugees
and migrants as best as we are able and support them in finding safety,
building comfortable and meaningful lives, and contributing to our urban
cultures and economies.

36

37

ZERO EMISSIONDEVELOPMENT

ZERO EMISSIONDEVELOPMENT

Zero Emission Development supports achieving climate neutrality across the
local territory and for government operations and infrastructure through integrated climate action. Zero emission development follows a clear roadmap toachieve net-zero greenhouse gasses (including short-lived climate pollutants) andresilience through localized solutions for mitigation and the sustainable energy
transition, prioritizing a people-centered and just transition. This is enabledthrough accessing blended finance and using innovative finance mechanisms
to secure the necessary support and investment.

TO ACHIEVE ZERO EMISSION DEVELOPMENT, THE ICLEI NETWORK WILL:•

Drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all our governmental
and community-scale activities in all sectors, working with our residents,
businesses and industries. We commit to implement the Paris Climate
Agreement goal and stay on track to limit temperature increase to 1.5°
Celsius above pre-industrial levels. With the goal to achieve climate neutrality in our communities and governmental infrastructure and operations,
we will set science-based targets for 2030 or sooner, including a fair shareapproach —taking responsibility, enhancing transparency and accountability
in our approach.

•Significantly reduce all environmentally harmful pollutants, including air, noiseand light pollution, from energy, transport, water, waste and food systems,
and the built environment.

ICLEI’S GLOBAL OFFERING FOR ZERO EMISSION DEVELOPMENT
Globally, the ICLEI GreenClimateCitiesTM Program and the Climate Neutrality
Framework support integrated climate action (combining climate resilience,
adaptation and mitigation). Guidance and tools, including regional and national
offerings, such as ClearPath and HEATplus, with global support such as the
Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories(GPC), help frame how to accelerate climate action and the local sustainableenergy transition. Progress can be tracked over time through CDP-ICLEI Track,
the world’s leading climate reporting platform and progress accountability
mechanism for subnational territories. These ICLEI initiatives support local andregional governments to also achieve their commitments to many other initiatives, including the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM),
the UN Race to Zero campaign and WWF’s One Planet City Challenge.

•

Reduce energy losses, inefficiencies and intensity through measures such as
digitalization, modal shifts, and behavioral change. Investments in sustainable energy infrastructure, including grids and storage technologies, will beramped up.

•2500 105

Equip ourselves to access finance from traditional and innovative sources andaccount for our own climate budgeting.

•

Recognizing the power of local and regional purchasing, direct our sustainable public procurement towards services, technologies, infrastructure, andbusinesses that support the transformation towards net-zero emissions.

involved in the activities•

Implement sustainable urban mobility and logistics plans that prioritize zero
emissions and multimodal transport for people and goods.

ICLEI’S ZERO EMISSION DEVELOPMENT IN 2024

223

Zero Emission
Development
Activities

fromcountries

cities, towns
and regions

where Zero Emission
Development is theprimary pathway

Through ICLEI’s TAP project pipeline, the ICLEI network
submitted local priority climate infrastructure projects seeking
the investment of

38• Strive to provide access to affordable, reliable, clean, secure and modern
energy critical for our communities’ well-being and livelihoods —aiming for100% renewables and divestment from fossil fuels. We commit to tackle energy
poverty, and ensure that our sustainable energy transition is context-specific,
socially-sensitive, and nature-conscious, and therefore just and inclusive.

1.9

billion euro

• Advocate for effective whole-of-government and whole-of-society collaboration,
good governance and partnership, to coordinate and cooperate, from planningto implementation, with annual reporting for ambitious climate action.

39

NATURE-BASEDDEVELOPMENT

NATURE-BASEDDEVELOPMENT

Nature-based development fosters the restoration of our broken connection
with nature and the planet while respecting and enhancing biodiversity and theintegrity of ecosystems in and around our cities to create more resilient cities
and regions where people can live in harmony with nature. Ecosystems form the
bedrock of our local economies and play a crucial role in supporting the social
integrity, wellbeing and resilience of our communities.

•

Unlock new economic opportunities in our jurisdictions by mainstreaming
biodiversity and building our own capacity in planning, budgeting and decision-making processes, applying nature-based solutions (including green
and blue infrastructure options), restoring ecosystems, promoting ecologicalconnectivity, and generating resources for reforestation actions, ecosystem
restoration, water conservation, protected areas, and the implementation ofother effective area-based conservation measures.

•

Advocate for cities and regions engagement on the CitiesWithNature andRegionsWithNature online platforms to share, connect, pioneer and learn
together in our journey with nature to reshape our cities and regions fortoday, for future generations and all life on earth; and to report and monitor
progress against their commitments to the global biodiversity targets andNational Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) on these two
platforms.

•

Prioritize the responsible management and conservation of water resources,
ensuring access to clean and safe water for all residents.

•

Work towards establishing local food systems that prioritize the production ofhealthy, sustainable, and locally sourced food, promote the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of soil biodiversity, and implement system-wide
food policies through multilevel cooperation.

•

While acting on the urgent need to transition to sustainable energy sources,prioritize projects that have the least impact on nature and biodiversity, strive
to integrate both where possible, and avoid the missteps of fossil-fuel-basedenergy systems from the past.

•

Strengthen our engagement in biodiversity-related Conventions to voice cities’and regions’ commitments to the achievement of global biodiversity targets.

•

Encourage cities and regions to adopt and implement a One Health approach,as advocated by the World Health Organization and recognized in several
Convention on Biological Diversity decisions, in planning and decision-making
by recognizing that human health and well-being are intrinsically linked to thehealth and well-being of the planet.

ICLEI’S GLOBAL OFFERING FOR NATURE-BASED DEVELOPMENT
Globally, ICLEI offers local and regional governments a broad portfolio of tools
and supportive services through our team of skilled and dynamic biodiversity
and urban development experts, which embeds the values of ‘living from,with, in and as nature.’ We seek local solutions and promote innovation andnature-oriented decision-making to address the complex issues surrounding
natural capital, biodiversity loss and ecosystem services degradation in a
rapidly urbanizing world. CitiesWithNature and RegionsWithNature, a joint
partnership initiative between ICLEI, UNEP, IUCN, WWF and numerous othercollaborative partners, offer a global platform where cities and regions haveaccess to and can share tools, best practices and resources to guide them intheir journey to reconnect and make peace with nature by becoming places
where people can thrive and live from, with, in and as nature.
ICLEI’S NATURE-BASED DEVELOPMENT IN 202445

235 65Nature-based
Development
Activities

fromcities, towns
and regions

where Nature-based
Development is theprimary pathway

countries

involved in the activities

TO ACHIEVE NATURE-BASED DEVELOPMENT, THE ICLEI NETWORK WILL:•

Deploy inspirational, ambitious whole-of-government and whole-of-society initiatives that prioritize creating healthy local environments that respect, protect
and nurture our air, water, soil, food and systems that sustain life and health.

40

41

CIRCULAR
DEVELOPMENTCIRCULARDEVELOPMENT

Circular development transitions from our current linear economic model of‘take, make, waste’ and moves to an economy where infrastructure, products,
components, materials, and nutrients are maintained at their highest value for as
long as possible. This systemic approach supports a sustainable urban environment by minimizing resource consumption and waste production while creating
opportunities to unlock economic value and growth, increase social equity andresponsibility, and enhance the natural environment.

TO ACHIEVE CIRCULAR DEVELOPMENT, THE ICLEI NETWORK WILL:ICLEI’S GLOBAL OFFERING FOR CIRCULAR DEVELOPMENTICLEI Circulars is our global platform for cities and regions and revolves aroundthe five R’s of our Circular Cities Action Framework: Rethink, Regenerate,
Reduce, Reuse, and Recover. We offer cities and regions in different stages of
their circular journey relevant technical support, training and knowledge toenter or accelerate their transition to becoming a circular city or region while
advocating for the rights of cities and subnational in international fora, suchas the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (Global
Plastics Treaty).

ICLEI’S CIRCULAR DEVELOPMENT IN 2024

41

135 35

CircularDevelopment
Activities

fromcities, towns
and regions

where Circular Development
is the primary pathway

countries

involved in the activities

42• Embed circularity in our governmental mandates and integrate circularity
approaches into existing policies, strategies, plans and procurement processes.
We will make use of initial assessments, understanding data gaps, scaling
interventions and gaining access to finance for feasible circular interventions,
including policy development and implementation.
• Grow the number of cities, towns and regions engaging in circular development strategies and deepen the engagement of those already doing circulardevelopment.
• Engage with our own city departments, businesses, community organizations
and other stakeholders to ensure access to quality resources and services while
creating local jobs, innovation and inclusive prosperity.
• Actively support entrepreneurs through guidance, incubation and platforms
that facilitate active communication with policymakers.
• Contribute towards moving to a more equitable society by ensuring a just transition for society at large, specifically for industries that could be negatively
impacted by the transition to circularity.
• Foster innovation, sustainability, and the advancement of circular economy principles within our policy landscape by collaborating with private sector partners
to allow us to contribute to enabling regulatory environments at the local level.
• Advocate for local and regional governments’ role in global sustainability processes relating to circular development and the circular economy, promoting
the need for multilevel governance and including policies for implementationand financing at the local and regional levels.

43

RESILIENT
DEVELOPMENTRESILIENTDEVELOPMENT

Resilient development anticipates, prevents, absorbs and recovers fromshocks and stresses, in particular those brought about by rapid environmental,
technological, social and demographic change, and improves essential basic
response structures and functions. Resilient development makes adaptation
and risk-prevention a core part of all municipal strategies and prepares for new
risks and impacts, taking into account the rights and needs of vulnerable sections of our society. Resilient development continuously strengthens essential
systems through a transparent and inclusive approach that enhances trust in
public institutions. Resilient development also aims to diminish socioeconomic
inequality and urban risk by facilitating effective, targeted, and interconnectedactions addressing both objectives simultaneously. The core strategy involves
elevating ambition for climate and disaster risk action planning in cities to mobilize a diverse set of stakeholders for concerted action.

TO ACHIEVE RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT, THE ICLEI NETWORK WILL:ICLEI’S GLOBAL OFFERING FOR RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT
Globally, ICLEI offers our resilience methodology and tools for local andregional governments and is a proud partner of UNDRR’s flagship Making
Cities Resilient 2030 campaign, which supports local and regional governmentsin the design and implementation of resilient-oriented actions and activities.
These initiatives support local and regional governments to join the UN Race to
Resilience campaign and other partner initiatives by ensuring the completionof a community-wide Risk and Vulnerability (R&V) Assessment in place thatencourages the integration of adaptation and resilience principles in urban
planning. As co-lead on the Human Settlements Task Force under the Sharm elSheikh Adaptation Agenda, ICLEI contributes to reporting progress and achieving outcome targets for building the resilience of 4 billion people by 2030.

ICLEI’S RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT IN 202480

158 32

Resilient
Development
Activities

fromcities, towns
and regions

where Resilient Development
is the primary pathway•

Build and contribute to resilient, inclusive and gender-sensitive, zero emissions, and nature-oriented cities, towns and regions through an integrated
approach to enhance climate and urban risk management.

•

Improve our own capacity for urban planning and implementation tostrengthen our essential systems, including in government operations andon community level, to prevent, absorb and recover from shocks, stresses, andunforeseen changes, alleviating the burden on people and the environment.

•

Promote the adoption of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions inurban development projects to enhance resilience and reduce environmental
impacts.

•

Foster improved forecast and infrastructure integrated land use to increase
prevention, set priorities for transport in the case of emergency, including
more autonomous non-fossil fuel-reliant options, decentralize recovery strategies to local communities and businesses, and integrate technology withdisaster prevention and response plans.

•

Collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including meteorological agencies
and research institutions, to enhance early warning systems and improveforecasting capabilities for climate-related hazards.

•

Support the deployment of innovative technologies to improve the monitoringand management of critical infrastructure and services.

•

Promote capacity-building and training, specifically focused on gender-sensitive and inclusive urban planning and management practices.

•

Foster community engagement and participatory decision-making processes
for resilience in urban planning and disaster management and strengthen
partnerships with academic institutions and research organizations to conduct
evaluations and assessments of resilience initiatives, ensuring evidence-based
decision-making and continuous improvement.

countries

involved in the activities

44

45

GLOBAL ADVOCACYFOR OUR SHAREDINTERESTSGLOBAL ADVOCACY FOROUR SHARED INTERESTSICLEI undertakes these advocacy
efforts nationally and multilaterallywith over 50 advocacy and diplomacy
experts in every ICLEI regional secretariat and country office.

ICLEI has been working for more than
thirty years to continually reinforce
the collective power of cities, towns
and regions and work together withall levels of government to bring sustainability home.

ICLEI advocates for using multilevel action
and urbanization to achieve just andsustainable development. We believe thatmultilevel cooperation and partnershipcan significantly address the simultaneouscrises of climate, nature and pollution andthat it is one of the most effective routes
to reach global sustainability.
particularly resulted in several
UN-wide transformative initiatives,
including localization. In the remaining years of Agenda 2030, ICLEI will
engage actively in the global sustainability governance by advancing inclusive multilateralism in an enhanced
United Nations system and otherintergovernmental fora.

By actively engaging in global decision-making processes, ICLEI aims toshape agreements for the interests ofour network as well as develop specificpathways, partnerships and programsfor rapid implementation of the global
agreements.
To attain the successful delivery of
the 2030 goals, the United Nations is
accelerating its efforts and reforms
for inclusive and transparent decision-making as well as effective,
efficient and impactful sustainable
development. The 2023 SDG Summit

To fulfill these promises, ICLEI is
working across four distinct advocacy
channels to elevate the contributions,needs and challenges of local andregional governments.

48

in 2022; and the Coalition for High
Ambition Multi-level Partnerships(CHAMP) in 2023. ICLEI has been
instrumental in giving cities, towns andregions a voice in the COP proceedings
by supporting the inclusion of the
Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization
and Climate Change in the official
agenda, the Local Climate Action
Summit at COP28, and by mobilizing
and organizing the Multilevel Action
and Urbanization Pavilion at COP26,
COP27 and COP28. COP28 was particularly ground-breaking for multilevel
cooperation - powerful references tomultilevel action in the outcomes of
COP28 mean that national governments should enable all subnational
governments to step up integrated
climate action, to achieve sustainable,
equitable and resilient development.
The ICLEI network is prepared to support national governments’ inclusionof multilevel action in the next round of
Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs) to raise their level of ambition.

GLOBAL ADVOCACY CHANNEL #1:
LEADING ADVOCACY
FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL
GOVERNMENTS IN THE GLOBAL
CLIMATE, BIODIVERSITY AND
DESERTIFICATION AGENDASAt the Earth Summit in 1992, ninestakeholder groups—including local
authorities—were designated as
essential partners in implementing the
global sustainability agenda, particularly in the Rio Conventions focusing
on climate (UNFCCC), biodiversity(CBD) and desertification (UNCCD).
The Local Governments and Municipal
Authorities Constituency (LGMA) comprises networks of local and regional
governments and has served as thevoice of cities and regions, achieving
advocacy success for multilevel actionin the climate, nature, and desertification processes.
ICLEI holds a special role in thisspace, acting as the LGMA Focal Point.
Through concerted leadership within
the LGMA community in the past
30 years, we have secured wins in
multiple climate COP outcomes, including specific references to multilevel
action and urbanization throughout
the negotiated outcomes, voluntary
outcomes, official agendas and statedpriorities of the climate COPs since
our last strategic vision in 2021. These
include clear references to multilevel
action in the negotiated outcomes of
the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact andthen COP28 United Arab Emirates
Consensus. Voluntary initiatives thathave been strongly supported by various COP presidencies include Cities
Race-to-Resilience in 2021; SURGe

We are also advancing our network’sinterests in the biodiversity space.
ICLEI has a long history of advocating
for the ambitions of cities and regions
and has since 2008 convened successful Summits of Cities and Regions
as official parallel events to the CBD
COPs. ICLEI’s advocacy efforts havealso contributed to an increasing
number of decisions being adopted
by the Parties at the CBD COPs thatrecognize the role and contributionsof local and subnational governments
towards the implementation of the
CBD, global biodiversity targets andNational Strategies and Action Plans(NBSAPs). Since 2008 more than 20

49

GLOBAL ADVOCACY CHANNEL #2:
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GLOBALTASK FORCE OF LOCAL AND
REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS
AND ADVANCING STRATEGICPARTNERSHIPS WITH THE UNITED
NATIONS SYSTEM

such decisions have been adopted by
the Parties. At COP10, held in Nagoya
in 2010, the first dedicated Plan of
Action on Subnational Governments,
Cities and Other Local Authorities
for Biodiversity was adopted. COP15,
held in Montréal in 2022, was ahistoric milestone for our constituency, endorsing our key role in contributing to implementation of theKunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity
Framework (GBF). This strong support
was evident in the adoption of a stronger and more ambitious decision andplan of action to engage subnational
and local governments in the implementation of GBF. This decision also
recognizes CitiesWithNature (CWN)
and RegionsWithNature (RWN) as theplatform where cities and regions will
monitor and report on their voluntarycommitments to national and global
biodiversity targets and for including such contributions into National
Reports. In addition, various COP15
decisions, as well as the GBF, include
references recognizing the role of subnational and local governments and,for the first time, a target that is specifically directed at local governments.
The Nagoya and Montreal plans ofaction are significant as they include amechanism for multilevel governancethrough the establishment of advisorycommittees and a global partnershipthat is unique among the three Rio
Conventions.

In the last twelve years, the United
Nations system has continued to
expand its collaboration with local
and regional governments to otherprocesses from social and economic
development to migration, all linking
back to sustainable development.
Local and regional governments now
engage in processes including the UN
Environment Assembly, the UN-Habitat
Assembly and the High-Level Political
Forum. ICLEI supports our constituency’s interests and enhances the global
visibility of local and regional governments through strategic partnerships
across these processes.
Together with United Cities and Local
Governments (UCLG), ICLEI is a founding partner of the Global Task Forceof Local and Regional Governments
as the umbrella mechanism for subnational advocacy in these areas.
Additionally, many UN programs, agencies and Convention Secretariats work
closely with ICLEI to help drive theirpractical work on sustainable urban
development. These partnerships
include UNEP, UN-Habitat, UNDRR,
FAO, WHO, and other Multilateral
Environmental Agreements, and the
UN Regional Commissions.

Under the UNCCD, ICLEI is particularly
focusing on linking the land degradation and drought to climate andbiodiversity targets.

50

GLOBAL ADVOCACY CHANNEL #3:
ENGAGEMENT IN GLOBALPOLITICAL AGENDAS TO ELEVATE
MULTILEVEL SUSTAINABILITYPRIORITIESThe decision-making in much of theUnited Nations system depends onconsensus and trust-building, which
can also happen in non-UN arenas. In
fact, mechanisms outside the United
Nations system – such as the G7 and
G20 – are more flexible in terms of
diplomatic procedures and can help
nations understand areas for partnership and alignment. ICLEI actively
engages in these processes to support
multilevel dialogue and collaboration.
GLOBAL ADVOCACY CHANNEL #4:
ADVOCACY AT NATIONALAND REGIONAL LEVELS AND
ENHANCING DIRECT ACCESSTO FINANCE
The decisions and agreements at theUnited Nations can impact action
only as long as they are embraced at
the national level and translate into
funding for implementation. ICLEI
builds specific relations and partnerships with national and regional andsupra-national bodies, such as theEuropean Union, African Union, Forumof Pan-Amazonian Cities, as well as
Multilateral Development Banks andother financing institutions.

51

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION
Sustainable development is the only viable
way forward in today’s world
We will deliver visionary leadershipand political support to accelerateaction on sustainable development
worldwide. We will lead by example,
share our knowledge openly andspeak with a united voice. We will
create lasting mechanisms for changethat make sustainability a permanent
framework, informing all development decisions. This global imperativeis vulnerable to political shifts at any
moment – and we need durable forces
to carry us forward.

The concrete initiatives that ICLEI will
undertake to achieve this Strategic
Vision are detailed in our digital ICLEI
Action Plan 2024-2027 and constitutes
a compendium of programs, projects,
initiatives, research, tools, methodologies, partnerships, events, capacity
building and advocacy actions. The
compendium is a living list showcasing
how those activities directly support
ICLEI Members in creating and enriching their own sustainable development
action plans.

The ICLEI Strategic Vision 2024-2030
provides strategic orientation for thecomprehensive planning and implementation of sustainability actionsat any scale by the ICLEI Members,
irrespective of size, region, level ofgovernment, or whether a modelof local sustainable development iseither already in place or will soon be
implemented. It lays out how ICLEI willleverage our collective strengths as a
network to advance sustainable urban
development at all levels of impact inan era in which local, regional, andnational governments will continue
to advance urgent action on climate,energy, nature, land and health, tocreate inclusive, safe, resilient andthriving communities despite a continued rise of new and unprecedented
sustainability challenges.

Our journey has been marked bysignificant milestones, reflective of
our shared commitment to environmental stewardship and social equity.
The efforts of ICLEI Members have
not only mitigated environmental
impacts but also enhanced the quality of life for their residents. These
initiatives, grounded in the principles of sustainability and inclusivity,
exemplify our network’s capacity tolead by example.
Yet, the path ahead remains fraught
with challenges. The specter of global
insecurity, the stark realities of the climate change and biodiversity crises,
and the deepening divide of inequality
call for a renewed sense of purpose
and urgency.

54

In these trying times, the strength of
our network—our unity in diversity—
becomes our most valuable asset.
Together, we possess the collective
wisdom, resources, and determination to navigate these complexities.
Our collaborative efforts amplify our
impact, turning individual actions intoa powerful chorus for change.
As we step into the next chapter, let
us do so with hope and determination.
The challenges we face are daunting,but the opportunities for positivechange are immense. By fostering collaboration, embracing innovation, andremaining committed to our sharedvalues, we can achieve our vision ofsustainable, resilient, and inclusive
cities, towns and regions around theworld. Together, we will continue tolead the way, using the power of our
network in this changing world toforge a path to true sustainability.

The challenges we faceare daunting, but theopportunities for positivechange are immense.
Together, we willcontinue to lead the way,using the power of our
network in this changing
world to forge a path
to true sustainability.
55