Posts tagged with 'United Nations'
8 Signs 2026 Isn’t Business as Usual for Urban Sustainability Agendas  
8 Signs 2026 Isn’t Business as Usual for Urban Sustainability Agendas  
For better or worse, the year ahead brings a mix of reforms, political shifts and global milestones that will shape how urban sustainability agendas are governed and delivered.   From changes to the structure and leadership of the United Nations (UN) ...
When Will Cities and Subnational Actors Be Formally Integrated Into the COP Climate Process?
When Will Cities and Subnational Actors Be Formally Integrated Into the COP Climate Process?
Thousands of local and regional leaders and their networks gathered in Brazil last month for the COP30 Local Leaders Forum in Rio and COP30 in Belém to respond to the call for a “COP of Implementation” — a COP that ...
Istanbul and the 15-Minute City: A Feasible Vision or an Urban Myth? 
Istanbul and the 15-Minute City: A Feasible Vision or an Urban Myth? 
Cities are complex ecosystems shaped by countless interactions between infrastructure, ecology and human life. As evolving technologies, shifting social norms, climate change and political instability reshape the urban landscape, these systems face increasing pressure. Rapid urbanization, in particular, has made ...
Using Games to Help Students Reclaim Spokane’s Empty Spaces
Using Games to Help Students Reclaim Spokane’s Empty Spaces
We know games are a powerful way to reimagine urban space and mobility systems. But what if cities started building more playful and accessible spaces inspired by the imagination of kids? That’s the question the New Urban Mobility Alliance (NUMO) asked as they planned ...
Europe’s Soaring Heat and the Great Air Conditioning Dilemma
Europe’s Soaring Heat and the Great Air Conditioning Dilemma
Much of Europe sweltered in August 2025 as a heat dome spread across the continent, pushing peak afternoon temperatures to over 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) in France and Spain. Meanwhile, parts of Greece, Turkey and Albania battled historic and devastating ...
1.5 Degrees C: Understanding World’s Critical Warming Threshold
1.5 Degrees C: Understanding World’s Critical Warming Threshold
Nearly a decade ago, the world rallied around the Paris Agreement on climate change and the goal of holding global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F). Since then, the “1.5C goal” has become the world’s North Star ...
Transforming Transportation 2025: What Did We Learn?
Transforming Transportation 2025: What Did We Learn?
Transforming Transportation 2025 is in the books. After a year of geopolitical turmoil and escalating climate impacts, the transport sector is seeing rapid change on multiple fronts. Across two days of events, leaders in government, business, academia and civil society ...
A New Era of Local-to-Global Climate Action: 10 Things ICLEI Is Watching in 2025
A New Era of Local-to-Global Climate Action: 10 Things ICLEI Is Watching in 2025
COP30 in Belém, Brazil, will be the most substantial and strategic mechanism for local and subnational governments to influence and impact national and global sustainability agendas in 2025. As we gear up for the mid-year Bonn Climate Conference, it is ...
How Cities Can Beat the (Extreme) Heat
How Cities Can Beat the (Extreme) Heat
In January 2024, the Central Business District of Cape Town, South Africa, endured a historically brutal day of heat: temperatures climbed to 44 degrees C – the highest ever measured in the city. But on that same day, people in other parts ...
What Happens When Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Collide
What Happens When Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Collide
On July 22, the world experienced its hottest day in recorded history. The global average temperature reached 17.2 degrees C (62.9 degrees F), prompting UN Secretary-General António Guterres to issue a global call to action on extreme heat. The problem of extreme ...
4 Examples of Supporting Children's Play in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods
4 Examples of Supporting Children’s Play in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods
The International Day of Play (IDOP), held annually on June 11th, is a unifying global moment to celebrate the power of play for all children everywhere. IDOP draws attention to Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of ...
Local Climate Action at the Forefront: How the UNEA-6 Cities & Regions Summit Elevated Subnational Governments
Local Climate Action at the Forefront: How the UNEA-6 Cities & Regions Summit Elevated Subnational Governments
“What you do in your cities resonates across the world. When you make your cities green and sustainable, you are not just local heroes, you are global heroes.” Those were the inspiring words that Inger Anderson, Director of the UN ...
Next-Generation Climate Targets: A 5-Point Plan for NDCs
Next-Generation Climate Targets: A 5-Point Plan for NDCs
By early 2025, countries are due to unveil new national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). These commitments form the foundation of international climate action, establishing emissions-reduction targets and other measures that countries promise ...
Urban Practitioners Invited to Help Scope IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities
Urban Practitioners Invited to Help Scope IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities
At the 43rd session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2016, the Panel decided to include a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities in the IPCC’s seventh assessment cycle. This achievement marked a ...
4 Climate Stories That Will Define 2024
4 Climate Stories That Will Define 2024
Last year shattered global heat records. The world witnessed the effects of rising temperatures in the form of devastating wildfires, severe flooding, extreme heatwaves and more. Poor countries and communities who have contributed the least to causing the climate crisis ...
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