ICLEI at the Climate Summit 2014

ICLEI at the Climate Summit 2014: iNews and carbonn News Special Edition

Dear colleagues,
World leaders are gathering in New York next week to attend the Climate Summit 2014. Convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Summit aims to mobilize political will and galvanize climate action. Among its eight key action areas are cities – a clear indication of the crucial role we have in fighting climate change.
For over two decades, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability has been advocating for exactly that. We want that cities and local governments are appropriately recognized, engaged and empowered to tackle climate change. The Local Government Climate Roadmap maps out this journey which begun in 2007 in Bali.  The Summit  marks an important step in this journey.
ICLEI will feed its rich experience, expertise and vision to the success of the Summit. We are proud to convey that we are core partners of one of the biggest announcements at the Summit – the Compact of Mayors.  Born out of an unprecedented international collaboration between cities networks and supporters, the Compact is the largest effort for cities to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, report their progress, and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
We will also support a number of groundbreaking cities initiatives on finance, resilience, carbon pricing, buildings, energy and waste. Additionally, we will engage with various stakeholders in high level policy dialogues and networking events. The potential impacts of these initiatives and stakeholder collaboration are enormous.
As we journey to New York, we will keep our feet on the ground, and our eyes on tomorrow. Two days before the Summit, we will strengthen our commitment to protecting people’s climate by joining the People’s climate march, under the slogan, “Peoples Climate, Mayors Commit”. Happening in New York and in multiple cities worldwide, the march is possibly the biggest mobilization for climate action in history.
Through our carbonn Climate Registry, the world´s leading reporting platform for local and sub-national climate action, we will seek to contribute to the transparency, accountability and credibility of climate action of local and subnational governments worldwide.
We believe that to effectively tackle climate change, the world needs concerted climate action from all stakeholders, all levels of government and from civil society.  We will continue to engage in local climate action and connect with others to optimize our approach.  Join us in this journey! Together we can achieve a meaningful climate accord in Paris and beyond.
 
David Cadman
ICLEI President
ICLEI to endorse action statements and engage with multiple stakeholders

Ban Ki-moon’s clarion call for bold, transformative action and solutions clearly resonates with ICLEI’s agenda in New York. ICLEI will feed its rich experience, expertise and vision to the success of the Climate Summit 2014 in New York. We will support a number of groundbreaking cities initiatives on finance, resilience, carbon pricing, buildings, energy and waste, including the Compact of Mayors, the biggest cooperative effort for cities to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.  We will also engage with various stakeholders in high level policy dialogues and networking events.

On its new online platform, CityTalk, ICLEI tells some of the challenges and stories of success of pioneering cities, showing how mayors are spearheading a diverse movement of local governments with high ambitions, engaging their citizens to be part of a sustainable revolution. Mayors are the closest level of government to citizens. They are deeply grounded in their reality, and are committed to uphold their citizen’s safety, justice and sustainability.
Led by ICLEI President David Cadman and ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin, Mayors of ICLEI Member Cities from the Global South and North will converge in New York: including Bonn (Germany); Seoul (South Korea); Bristol (United Kingdom); Bogota (Colombia); Johannesburg (South Africa); Quezon City (The Philippines); Des Moines (USA); Nantes (France); and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). These mayors will attend the Summit and support a number of city-action initiatives, showing leadership and the drive for accelerating climate action.

Over the past two decades, ICLEI has achieved results the world has noticed. It has fostered a global network of 1,000 cities and towns from 88 countries, representing more than 660 million citizens – many of which have undertaken climate action. View our timeline for a look back on two fruitful decades of steering local climate action.
What is the UN Climate Summit? Why is this relevant to ICLEI and local governments? How are local governments and ICLEI involved in the Summit?
Share on social media