Since 2011 the ‘Municipal Climate Partnerships’ project has aimed to strengthen partnerships between municipalities in Germany and developing countries for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The fifth phase of the project involves partnerships between German municipalities and municipalities in the Philippines and Vietnam, such as the three between Filipino and German municipalities, namely Muñoz – Marburg, Dumangas – Herdecke and Lubang – Ebhausen.

Through a process of professional peer-to-peer dialogue and exchange of experiences, in conjunction with mutual visits by delegations of local government experts, the municipal actors from Germany and their counterparts develop a joint bilateral program of action for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Both municipalities will identify specific project activities to be implemented in the joint program of action, and the resources needed for this.

ICLEI provides support in implementing workshops, delegation visits, and advisory services. The delegation visits provide partner municipalities a peek of the realities on the ground. This will then be one of the basis in prioritizing projects and activities in their joint program of action. All project activities are conducted in close coordination with Engagement Global/SKEW.

Procura+ is a network of European public authorities and regions that connect, exchange and act on sustainable and innovation procurement. The network has 45 participating public authorities from 16 European countries. ICLEI offers the Procura+ participants a range of activities and resources to advance their sustainable public procurement work, including recognition through the Procura+ Awards; a city twinning program to facilitate staff exchanges; a platform to share plans and publicize successes; education and professional development opportunities; and the Procura+ manual, an accessible guide supporting public authorities in successfully implementing sustainable public procurement.

In order to increase effectiveness of the advocacy of local and regional governments at the global processes, ICLEI will improve internal strategic planning, networking, coordination and dissemination activities of the Global Task Force of Local and Regional Governments and its relations to UN member states and decision making bodies UN bodies.

In order to improve visibility and enhance recognition of, and mobilize support for its action and network, ICLEI enhances dialogue, collaboration and engagement in the UN system, with a specific focus on those related to its fields of its expertise such as the secretariat of the other multilateral environmental agreements, the UN Environment Management Group, Local2030 and UN SDG Knowledge Development Center, as well as regional and global processes outside the UN such as G7/G20, OBOR, BRICS or other regional initiatives.

In order to ensure that the work of the UN fits the mission of the new sustainable development agenda and align with the spirit of enhanced collaboration with all levels of governments, ICLEI provides active contributions to the work of the UN Secretary General in the UN development system reform and 2019 UN Climate Summit, including development of customized strategies at the national level.

Recognizing that cities play an important role in leading the way to achieve carbon neutrality in the second half of this century, namely the goals of the Paris Agreement, ICLEI supports cities and regions laying out their vision on a sustainable society in 2050. The declaration lays out a vision for cities leading up to 2050 and encourages cities around the world to join Kyoto in cultivating a culture of sustainable cities that is in balance with the local and global environment.

Building upon ICLEI´s commitment to engage in the NDC Partnership and as the first associate member, ICLEI created a modular approach to addresses the vertical integration of NDC implementation and investment plans, outlining the contribution of local and regional governments in the NDCs. ICLEI’s participation is structured in four parts: coordinating a multilevel action working group (MAWG); knowledge products and tools; country engagement for developing Partnership Plans (PPs), working with countries wanting to join the NDCP; and project management and coordination with a range of partners.

The EcoMobility Alliance is a network of selected committed cities led by innovators and visionaries, supported by experts and businesses. The EcoMobility Alliance cities are a select group of ambitious cities that have achieved positive results in specific dimensions of sustainable mobility, and that strive to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel-based personal automobiles. The vision is that of vibrant cities, where communities and organizations can access goods, services, people and information in an ecomobilemanner. Through a service-oriented structure, collective learning exercises, peer-to-peer exchanges and joint activities, Alliance Cities help each other to reach self-set goals. An Alliance Secretariat along with a group of partners support Alliance Cities through their expertise, experience, and technology. ICLEI works with the Alliance to promote and advocate for ecomobility in cities, towns and rural settlements on the basis of its beneficial effects on health conditions, air cleanness, noise avoidance, and efficient use of public space, energy efficiency and citizens’ savings.

ICLEI promotes low carbon urban freight policies and practices addressing climate change mitigation and the ambitions of NDCs. By highlighting ecologistics as a priority area for local and national governments the project raises awareness, collects and develops policy recommendations, develops action plans and guides pioneering cities to exemplary action. The project strengthens institutional capacity through multi-level stakeholder participation, develops an urban freight emission assessment tool, implements demonstration projects in cities, and makes national policy recommendations. A project platform accessible globally shares knowledge on best practices and connects local governments to solution providers.

The overarching goal of the “CitiesSHIFT: Capacity building and networking for climate- and people-friendly mobility” project is to support cities to identify challenges and opportunities of urban mobility system in hope that the city could shift towards more sustainable modes of travel i.e. walking, cycling, shared and public transport. Building a healthy living environment: Urban form and sustainable mobility system contribute to a healthy urban environment. This TWG helps cities to get a big picture of what the residents need and the kind of city that the policymakers would like to create. Three main aspects: managing urban form and public space to benefit all residents; providing integrated, multimodal and ecomobile travel options. Emerging mobility trends: The emerging mobility trends that cities have seen in recent years range from electric mobility to shared mobility systems, presenting new opportunities to reduce individual ownership and usage of private vehicles. The goal of this TWG is to support local governments to understand the different policy and market drivers to maximize the benefits of electric mobility and new mobility services to support an ecomobile vision.