This handbook provides local governments with concrete tools their peers are using to facilitate the transition to circular food systems, from stakeholder engagement to designing effective policies. It draws on experiences from the ICLEI network and its Circular Development pathway, learnings from the ICLEI-RUAF CITYFOOD Network and best practices from the Milan Pact Awards. This publication features experiences from 50 local governments and was designed by ICLEI experts in collaboration with champion cities for the benefit of city practitioners.
Category: Cities and climate change
Are we on track for a green recovery? Not Yet
One year from the onset of the pandemic, recovery spending has fallen short of nations’ commitments to build back more sustainably. An analysis of spending by leading economies, led by Oxford’s Economic Recovery Project and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), finds only 18.0% of announced recovery spending can be considered ‘green.’. The report “Are We Building Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and Pathways for Inclusive Green Recovery Spending” was supported by the International Monetary Fund and GIZ through the Green Fiscal Policy Network (GFPN).
It calls for governments to invest more sustainably and tackle inequalities as they stimulate growth in the wake of the devastation wrought by the pandemic.
The most comprehensive analysis of COVID-19-related fiscal rescue and recovery efforts by 50 leading economies so far, the report reveals that only $368bn of $14.6tn COVID-induced spending (rescue and recovery) in 2020 was green.
Creating sustainable cities through low-carbon freight
Freight transport demand is expected to triple and its associated emissions to more than double by 2050 compared to the 2015 levels, if left unchecked.To reverse this trend, cities and companies need to turn promises into actions.
The purpose of this report is to review existing urban freight movement characteristics across the nine project cities in Argentina, Colombia and India, provide an account of baseline GHG emissions (2019) from urban freight and identify possible interventions to minimize its negative impacts. The emissions have been established using the EcoLogistics Self-monitoring Tool.
Drawing on the analysis, policy recommendations and interventions are also presented in this report and will be used as part of the Low Carbon Action Plan for Urban Freight (LCAP-UF) in the cities.
Final Report: Virtual Global Exchange
The exchange was designed to bring together urban practitioners from all over the globe. The goal was to ignite creativity, innovation, solidarity and motivation, while creating and enhancing this global community of practice around the common purpose of combating the global COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences with smart local solutions and strategies.
During the first week, urban practitioners and experts from different municipalities, the civil society, business and academia, presented a total of 56 Good Practices in 18 sessions and gave insights into their experienced challenges and local solutions to deal with the pandemic. The exchange were centered around the nine topics were Public Health, Crisis Management, Economic Response, Housing, Education, Digitalisation, Crisis Communication, Innovation, and Green Urban Recovery.
The second week was about receiving practical “How To” capsules with practical exercises on topics that came up repeatedly during the exchange events such as: social media usage, digital tools, and how to plan for virtual meetings. Finally, the newly learned mindsets and tools could be applied in a 4-hour solution design workshop.
Local Development Program for the City of Agadir in Morocco
Agadir municipality has pursued ambitious policies aimed at enhancing the quality of life of the city’s inhabitants, while protecting the environment and fostering sustainable development. The undertaken efforts targeted various key areas, in which the requirements and responsibilities for achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability were met.
The Value of Sustainable Urbanization
“The world we live in has been transformed in a manner not witnessed in recent times. In a rapidly urbanizing and globalized world, cities have been the epicentres of COVID-19. The virus has spread to virtually all parts of the world; first, among globally connected cities, and now, through community transmission and from the city to the countryside.
The World Cities Report 2020 shows that the intrinsic value of sustainable urbanization can and should be harnessed for the wellbeing of all. The report provides evidence and policy analysis of the value of urbanization from an economic, social and environmental perspective, including the unquantifiable value that gives cities their unique character; and also explores the role of innovation and technology, local governments, targeted investments and the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda in fostering the value of sustainable urbanization.”
Used Vehicles and the Environment
Millions of used cars, vans and minibuses exported from Europe, the United States and Japan to the developing world are of poor quality, contributing significantly to air pollution and hindering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. The UNEP-report shows that between 2015 and 2018, 14 million used light-duty vehicles were exported worldwide. Some 80 per cent went to low- and middle-income countries, with more than half going to Africa.
The first-ever report of its kind, calls for action to fill the current policy vacuum with the adoption of harmonized minimum quality standards that will ensure used vehicles contribute to cleaner, safer fleets in importing countries.
Green Urban Infrastructure in Asian Cities
From August 3rd until August 14th, 2020 around 30 urban practitioners from 6 Asian Cities came together virtually to exchange their experiences and expertise in the field of Green Urban Infrastructure. Especially challenges in waste management and water sanitation were discussed intensively, as they represent pressing issues for many Asian cities.
The aim of the workshop was to further develop existing project ideas by discussing arising challenges and trying out new methods to find new perspectives and approaches to urban planning. The event was a follow-up to the dialogue event in Bandung, Indonesia in November 2019.
Due to the restrictions imposed on all of us by the Covid-19-pandemic, the event was conducted virtually by using the Connective Cities Platform. To ensure an enriching learning experience, the event took place over two weeks and included synchronous workdays with various keynote presentations as well as asynchronous days on which the participants could work on their project ideas at their own pace.
Six projects from Indonesia and Nepal were presented and further developed (see presentations).
Urban Gardening: Urban green spaces for social and economic resilience
Connective Cities, together with partners from 5 districts of Berlin/Germany and other 10 municipalities in 6 countries, had prepared a dialogue event on Urban Gardening in Berlin from April 22nd to 24th. Due to travel and contact restrictions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was unfortunately postponed until the first half of 2021.
A virtual exchange was prepared together with the original participants on September 22, with the aim of bringing together the participants of the dialog event to discuss aspects of urban gardening, the relation between Covid-19 and urban gardening policies and challenges, as well as to warm-up for the next year`s dialog event.
The exchange focused on the role of urban gardening in building social resilience and included three input presentations that inspired rich discussions. Dr. Carolin Mees was the keynote speaker and shared her experiences with urban gardening development and policies in New York City. She was followed by Paul Yeboah, who presented a good practice from Ghana. A civil society project called “Ghana Permaculture Urban Garden Project” to promote sustainable urban gardening and food production in the municipality of Techiman. The third contribution was provided by Cornelia Mirke from the Berlin district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf with a beautifully produced short documentary on the history and current role of urban gardens in the district.
The documentary can be watched under the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69jKSmA9P8c.
Transport for under two degrees – the way forward
The transport sector is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions at present. It accounts for approximately one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and hence figures prominently in efforts to transform the energy economy and protect the climate. Without a scaled-up global mitigation effort, it will not be possible to reach the climate targets of the Paris Agreement. A low-carbon transformation of the global transport sector is the next necessary step in the global energy transformation.
Germany’s Federal Foreign Office has commissioned the project “T4<2° – Transport for under two degrees”, a global foresight study on the decarbonisation and transformation of the transport sector to identify challenges and opportunities for a sustainable, low-carbon transport sector. The findings provide decision-makers with a clear vision and specific recommendations on how to achieve decarbonisation of the sector and orchestrate international efforts for a global transport system transformation.