 
(l-r) ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin, Mayor George Heartwell of Grand Rapids, USA, Mayor Gustavo Petro of Bogota, Colombia, Mayor Frank Cownie of Des Moines, USA, City Manager Penny Ballem of Vancouver, Canada, Mayor Julio Gerardo of Recife, Brazil, Deputy Mayor Angelica Kappel of Bonn, Germany, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, ICLEI President David Cadman, Mayor Tunc Soyer of Seferihisar, Turkey, and Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduagdhan of Delta State, Nigeria.
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ICLEI Mayors discuss with Ban Ki-Moon & ministers multi-level action & support
Emphasizing the shared responsibility of all levels of governments in tackling climate change, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon turned to cities and local governments as ultimate implementers of climate action. “Cities are central in tackling climate change. They are proving grounds for our efforts in ensuring a low carbon future that benefits people and the planet”, stressed Ban Ki Moon.
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21 November Cities Day Special: ICLEI Official UNFCCC Side Event
Raising the level of global ambition through local climate action
This side event presented an overview of the global progress on climate mitigation and adaptation with a specific focus on Nantes Declaration and its follow-up. The event also enabled high level dialogues with GEF, World bank and Committee of the Regions followed by showcasing selected examples of local action via Mayor George Heartwell of Grand Rapids, USA, Mayor Gustavo Petro of Bogota, Colombia, Mayor Frank Cownie of Des Moines, USA, City Manager Penny Ballem of Vancouver, Canada, Mayor Julio Gerardo of Recife, Brazil, Deputy Mayor Angelica Kappel of Bonn, Germany, and Mayor Tunc Soyer of Seferihisar, Turkey.
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City of Warsaw event on scaling up local & subnational action:Mayors Roundtable
Organized by City of Warsaw and Polish Ministry of Environment, the event consisted of a Mayors Roundtable, World Green Buildings Council Government Leadership Ceremony, thematic discussions, dialogue among local government networks and concluding plenary. Moderated by ICLEI President David Cadman, the roundtable saw Mayor George Heartwell from Grand Rapids, USA, Deputy Mayor Angelica Kappel from Bonn, Germany, Adewale Ayodele – Mayor of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Lagos State Nigeria, Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz - Waltz, Penny Ballem City Manager of Vancouver, City Manager and Dr. Aisa Kacyira - Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat, former Mayor of Kigali, Rwanda in an interactive debate on how cities can contribute in laying foundations for the post 2020 climate change architecture.
The debate was followed by the awarding of the World Green Building Awards where Vancouver, Bogota, Christchurch, Abu Dhabi and Seoul bagged prizes for their trailblaizing citywide initiatives.
At the local governmet networks dialoue session, ICLEI Advocacy and Policy Head Yunus Arikan presented efforts led by ICLEI in its capacity as focal point of Local Governments and Municipal Authorities constituency.
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ICLEI/Globe International at EU Implementation Day: Cities are where the action is!
ICLEI and Globe International coorganized the EU Implementation Day which highlighted the growing body of domestic legislation and policies being devised and implemented at national, subnational and at a local level in a number of key developed and developing countries.
ICLEI President David Cadman, EU Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, Minister Xie Zhenhua of NDRC, China delivered keynote speeches answering the key question, “Where is action taking place to address climate change in the run-up to 2015”.
To showcase action by local and subnational governments, Mayor George Heartwell of Grandrapids, Hon RA Rajiv of Maharashtra, Neil Councilor Swannick of Manchester, City Manager Liniwe Kwele of Thane and Robert Kehew of UN Habitat all presented best practices and experiences in a panel moderated by ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin.
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ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin addresses negotiators at the High Level SegmentICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin delivered an intervention on behalf of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency group at the high level segment of the COP19/CMP9. In his address, Van Begin raised the profile of cities and subnational governments as ultimate implementers of climate action plans and policies. He outlined the remarkable successes of local action and asserted that cities and subnational governments can do much more given financial support. Read Van Begin's full speech. |
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Creating resilient local communities in the US
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA and the State of California coorganized a side event at the US Center on "Creating resilient local communities in the US" During discussions, panelists George Heartwell, Mayor of Grand Rapids, USA, Frank Cownie, Mayor of Des Moines, USA, Brian Holland of ICLEI USA and Michael McCormick of California State counted communication and education of innovation and cost-savings as key to maintaining progress on sustainability initiatives. On the overload of information available, Holland suggested endorsing existing portals and Heartwell recommended finding low-hanging fruits, celebrating them and moving on. Panelists agreed on promoting exchanges among youth, domestically and internationally. (Text and photo courtesy of IISD ENB)
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GEF High level session: Sustainable cities are central
In this High Level Forum on Synergies for Global Environmental Benefits presented by the GEF secretariat, ICLEI Secretary General Gino van Begin highlighted the urgency of building sustainable cities. He pointed out that in the next 40 years, urban infrastructure will have to double to accommodate rising urban populations and this infrastructure should be developed in a holistic and integrated way, especially within medium-sized cities where most growth is expected to occur. He also called for directing additional international financing mechanisms towards urban areas.
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ICLEI and Government of Indonesia highlight low carbon cities
In 2030, it is projected that 65% of Indonesian population will be living in urban areas. ICLEI, and the Government of Indonesia organized this session to share views and knowledge from evidence-based studies in Indonesia, with a particular focus on urban low emission development. Indonesia is one of the four target countries of Urban-LEDS Project implemented by ICLEI, hosts pioneering projects in transport and street-lightning to be financed through innovative NAMA funds and recognized together with France, Poland and Mexico as amongst first pionee countries of the Friends of Cities at the UNFCCC.
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ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin at the China Pavilion
ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin spoke about how China can transition to low carbon development at a side event entitled, "Low Carbon City Drives New Urban Living". Van Begin also explained how ICLEI, as a city network helps cities move towards sustainable and low carbon economies and elaborated future actions that urgently needed to be undertaken.
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ICLEI President David Cadman inspires youth & grassroots movements
"To be or not be - that is the question!," opened David Cadman as he addressed a diverse group of young activitists, thought leaders and grassroots movements at the Connect4Climate "Be the Movement" event. Cadman raised biting arguments of why we must all join forces and act now in order to save the planet. The sea level is rising, oceans are warming and acidifying, temperatures are increasing - therefore Cadman does not agree with Mike Jagger of the Rolling Stones that "time is on our side". It is not.
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