News

International cooperation will continue to drive sustainable urban development

This year has clearly shown the need for greater urban resilience. Crises, including the coronavirus pandemic or the climate change crisis, know no borders – local, national, or international. In order to limit their impact, we need bold leaders willing to take decisive action in collaboration with international part ...

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Measurable and actionable climate ambitions in Asia

Through its two components, the IUC programme in Asia supported climate action throughout the region. First, it facilitated city-to-city cooperation between cities in China and Europe in thematic clusters. Second, it supported cities from a number of Asian countries achieve ambitious climate targets via the Global Covenant of Mayors. The IUC Asi ...

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Adapting solutions for more sustainable cities

The IUC programme in India facilitated knowledge exchange between diverse Indian cities and European peers – and did so with great success. The programme led to the concrete transfer of successful solutions, and to the formation of long-term partnerships between diverse cities. The IUC India team recently reflected on the programme’s past four ye ...

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Bolstering bottom-up processes that build sustainable urban development

The IUC programme in North America (IUC-NA) worked across Canada, Mexico and the United States (US) to bolster sustainable urban development. The programme has demonstrated the potential of international cooperation to drive change even across such diverse countries with vastly different local contexts. The IUC-NA team recent ...

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International exchange drives success in the face of challenges

The IUC programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) pushed forward sustainable urban development via city-to-city pairings, the Global Covenant of Mayors, and region-to-region pairings. The programme has proven highly successful, demonstrating the potential of international cooperation to drive change. The team at IUC-LAC rece ...

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Learn from IUC cities at the fourth annual IUC City-to-City event

Since 2017, cities and subnational regions from across the world have been brought together via the IUC programme. All participating cities gather once per year for a global knowledge-sharing City-to-City event. On 3 December 2020, for the first time, the IUC programme is extending City-to-City event participation to all interested ...

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IUC regional event in Japan goes digital

IUC cities from each of the programme's regions – Asia, India, Japan, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America – have come together in regional meetings, which convene the participants of each region alongside European Commission representatives, experts, and a selection of the cities' European IUC peer cities. Given the ongoing coronavirus ...

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Rome and Yantai collaborate on sustainable urban agriculture and viticulture

IUC cities are not allowing travel restrictions and the need for physical distancing to stop them from pursuing meaningful exchange and collaboration. This month, representatives from the University of Tuscia (Rome), the University of Yantai (Shandong Province), and the IUC Asia office met virtually to discuss research a ...

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Cooperation between EU and Japanese cities shifts in light of COVID-19

A regional exchange meeting for IUC-Japan cities was planned to take place at the end of May 2020, and had to be postponed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting would have been the sixth one to convene IUC-Japan cities, following meetings previously  held in Brussels and Tokyo alternatively, twice a yea ...

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The City of Mumbai joins the Global Covenant of Mayors

During the international conference on “Climate Crisis: Action for Tropical Coastal Cities”, which took place in Mumbai on 27-28 February, the City of Mumbai joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM), signally their commitment to taking measured and transparent climate action. The commitment was signed by Mr. Pra ...

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Updated resources from IUC India out now

During the international conference on “Climate Crisis: Action for Tropical Coastal Cities”, which took place in Mumbai (India) on 27-28 February, IUC India released a Financing Manual for Sustainable and Climate Resilient Urban Infrastructure Projects in India. The manual was jointly released by Mr. Ugo Astuto (EU Ambassador), Mr. Praveen Pardeshi (M ...

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IUC-LAC cities move knowledge sharing online – and invite all to join!

Much like international initiatives across the globe, the IUC programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC), has had to reevaluate its agenda of events for 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Travel had been foreseen for city-to-city exchange, as well as for seminars, congresses and face-to-face training o ...

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Spotlight on Brazil: mayors confront COVID-19

To support cities in its region, the IUC programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC) has published a series of news items, which were also shared across social media, to highlight the efforts of mayors at this critical moment in health, economics and social security, and to inspire neighbouring countries as they face COVID-19. From small m ...

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Ideas and resources to support all during the COVID-19 pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds around the world, local and regional governments are stepping up to support the health and well-being of their residents and communities. Local leaders have reacted swiftly with measures to support citizens in health, social and economic terms, including efforts to mitigate the impacts of the restrict ...

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The European Green Deal: a formula for sustainable and resilient cities around the world

by Mauro Petriccione, Director-General for Climate Action (CLIMA), European Commission In the context of vast human and economic damage from the global pandemic, the European Green Deal’s focus of long-term resilience, nature protection, quality of life and sustainability remains more important than ever, ...

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Barcelona and New York City meet to share affordable housing solutions

In early March, delegates from the housing department in Barcelona (Spain) travelled to New York City (USA) to meet with New York City’s Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) department. The cities have been exchanging solutions and experiences over the past eighteen months on strategies to increase affordable housing ...

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Global Covenant regions in the USA showcase how metropolitan coordination leads to climate action

The IUC programme in the United States is working closely with four regional/metropolitan-scale climate leaders to develop Climate Action Plans through regional coordination and cooperation. Elected officials and executives from the four selected GCoM USA ‘Metro-scale Climate Leaders’ – namely ...

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Training for female Brazilian mayors on addressing climate change

On March 4 and 5, fourteen female Brazilian mayors convened in Brasília (Brazil) for the “Brazilian Mayors at the Vanguard of Climate Action” workshop. These leaders, all committed to local climate action, represent the municipalities of Boa Vista, Brasileia, Sorocaba, Conde, Rio Branco, Monteiro Lobato, Dois Irmãos, Monteiro ...

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Nagpur hosts IUC workshop on bicycle sharing

The City of Nagpur (India) is working with its IUC partner Karlsruhe (Germany) to ensure that mobility remains people-oriented. Karlsruhe is applying its experience as a front-runner in public bike-sharing to support Nagpur to implement a similar programme. This includes assisting Nagpur in overcoming the common local association of bicycles with poore ...

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EU International Urban Cooperation programme to be expanded and reinforced with cities and regions worldwide

The European Commission has decided to expand and reinforce its programme on International Urban Cooperation (IUC) for sustainable urban development. At least 148 cities from EU and non-EU countries in America, Asia and Australasia will join cooperation actions that are currently under way ...

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IUC to present city-to-city cooperation as a path to sustainable urban development at World Urban Forum 2020

This February, thousands of participants from around the world will gather in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) for the tenth World Urban Forum (WUF10), organised by UN-Habitat. This year's event will focus on the theme "Cities of opportunities – Connecting Culture and Innovation.&qu ...

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Pitesti (Romania) visits Trujillo (Peru) to work on water & waste management, and sustainable mobility

In mid-January, when travel was still open and safe, a delegation from the City of Pitesti (Romania) visited Trujillo (Peru) to work together towards sustainable urban development. Topics such as maintenance and promotion of their historic centres; maintenance of coastal areas against erosion; a ...

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City-to-city diplomacy and cooperation for a clean and just energy transition

As we enter a new year, the European Union is looking forward to a decade of climate and energy action that mobilises cities and lays the groundwork for a just transition to a climate-neutral and resilient continent that leaves no person or region behind. The year 2019 closed with COP25, which brought together represen ...

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IUC-LAC reflects on the way forward


At the third region-to-region meeting, the IUC Latin America and the Caribbean team (IUC-LAC) reflected on its achievements in 2019 and set in motion a series of activities for 2020. Throughout 2019, IUC-LAC formalised technical cooperation and exchange between 24 European and Latin American cities from five different Latin American countries (Argentina, B ...

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Canadian cities join training to build local capacity to act on climate change


 
The 25 cities that are part of the IUC-funded "GCoM Canada Showcase Cities" cohort convened in Montreal (Canada) in early January to join a three-day training programme aimed at building local capacity to act on climate change. Cities from across the country were greeted by the team from the F ...

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Representatives from China and Italy showcase IUC's success at “Smart, Sustainable Cities” workshop

Three experts from the IUC Asia team and city representatives from Rome (Italy) shared experiences from IUC cooperation at the EU-China "Smart, Sustainable Cities" workshop, organised by the EU Project Urban EU-China. The event was hosted by the Norwegian University of Science and Te ...

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Japanese local government action highlighted and reflected upon at COP25


On 9 December 2019, representing signatory cities of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) Japan, the City of Kyoto attended GCoM Day, a Side Event of COP25, focussed on "Accelerating Action and Scaling Up Impact." As of the December 2019 event, 21 municipalities had signed the CoM Japan, with the Mayor of Kyoto actin ...

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Global Covenant of Mayors Day at COP25 shines a light on the powerful impact of cities and regions

This month, governments from across the world gathered in Madrid (Spain) for COP25 – an annual meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which brings together world leaders to discuss key environmental issues and challenges. In previous years, these negotiation ...

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Strengthening Capacity to Conduct Risk and Vulnerability Analysis

Through the Global Covenant of Mayor (GCoM), the IUC Asia office has strengthened the capacity of city representatives to plan for climate change mitigation and adaptation. IUC Asia cooperates with the Government of Indonesia to support cities in developing Climate Action Plans (CAPs). These plans are created according to the GCo ...

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IUC cities from the EU and Japan come together for a fifth exchange meeting

  On 20 November 2019 in Brussels (Belgium), the day before the 3rd IUC City-to-City Event, IUC cities from Europe and Japan came together for their Fifth Exchange Meeting. The meeting provided the city-to-city pairings with the opportunity to present their work, including reflecting on their cooperation activities, ...

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New manual shares experiences from IUC India cities

A lack of bankable projects and difficulties matching such projects to appropriate sources of funding are limiting sustainable and climate resilient development of Indian cities. IUC India has produced a Manual for Financing Sustainable and Climate Resilient Urban Development in India with the aim to develop an approach to identify and pursue v ...

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January IUC webinar to focus on innovative financing mechansisms to fund sustainable urban development

The eighth International Urban Cooperation programme webinar will be held on 23 January 2020 from 09:30 – 11:00 CET, focusing on innovative financing mechanisms to fund sustainable urban development. While traditional forms of municipal finance retain their importance, the role of new financ ...

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IUC India representatives travel to Europe to collaborate with peers

This November, representatives from IUC-India travelled to Brussels (Belgium) and Milan (Italy) to exchange knowledge with European and international counterparts. An Indian delegation consisting of senior state policy makers, city mayors, technical experts and academics participated in the IUC's third annual City-to-City event ...

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Arequipa and Granada explore sustainably managing historic spaces and water systems

  A delegation from Arequipa (Peru) recently visited the City of Granada (Spain) to deepen their IUC city-pairing cooperation and learn about the management of historic spaces and water systems. The visit took place from 16-19 December, supported by IUC Latin America and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC), and marked th ...

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Udaipur and Aarhus continue bringing their partnership forward

On 18 December 2019, the municipalities of Udaipur (India) and Aarhus (Denmark) took their IUC cooperation forward by signing a Partnership Agreement with the IUC India programme. Aarhus Mayor Jacob Bundsgaard and CEO City Manager Niels Højberg signed on behalf of the partnership. By signing this agreement, Aarhus Municipality commi ...

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Panaji and Dubrovnik sign Partnership Agreement during visit to Croatia

The IUC-supported cooperation between the cities of Panaji (India) and Dubrovnik (Croatia) continues to progress, with the cities recently signing a Partnership Agreement in support of their collaboration to address key sustainable urban development challenges. A delegation from the Corporation of City of Panaji, headed by t ...

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Cities learning from cities learning from cities: IUC-North America Regional Event

In November 2019,  North American and European Cities gathered in Brussels (Belgium) to learn about and share approaches to sustainable urban development. The IUC programme fosters inter-city cooperation in a number of ways, including city pairings for direct city-to-city cooperation, the Global Covenant of M ...

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IUC event highlights the important role of City-to-City cooperation in sustainable urban development

  Over 200 representatives of local and regional governments from across the world will meet in Brussels (Belgium) on 21 November at the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme’s third annual City-to-City event. After years of exchange, cities are coming together once more to take st ...

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Reflecting on IUC region-to-region cooperation

Over the last three years, the IUC Latin American and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC) programme has facilitated 42 exchanges as part of the third IUC component: region-to-region cooperation. The exchanges involved European regions and their Latin American counterparts in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Last October, representatives from ...

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Resilience in face of climate change: Nagano visits Turku


In November 2019, a delegation from the Japanese City of Nagano and the neighbouring Town of Obuse visited the Turku, a city on the Finnish Baltic Sea coast, as part of their IUC city-to-city cooperation. The municipalities quickly found a topic of common interest: resilience in the face of climate change. In the middle of October, Na ...

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IUC programme to be showcased at the Paris Peace Forum

  The Paris Peace Forum was launched last year on 11 November 2018, the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. There were 65 Heads of States and Governments in attendance, as well as high-level representatives from the European Commission. This year, from 11-13 November, the Forum will convene once again. As part of the 201 ...

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World Cities Day: reflecting on cities’ power to bolster sustainable development

  Today, 31 October, is the United Nations’ (UN) World Cities Day. This provides an opportunity to reflect on the integral role that cities play, and the ways in which they will need support in the future. Cities and urban areas act as centres of innovation for solutions to global challenges. Concurrently, g ...

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IUC represented at APUF-7 conference in support of sustainable urban development

The International Urban Cooperation (IUC) presented a series of cross-regional dialogue sessions at the seventh Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-7), which took place from 15-17 October 2019, in Penang (Malaysia). The Forum resulted in the launch of a new Platform to support cities in Asia and the Pacific in achieving t ...

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November IUC webinar to focus on gender-equal cities

The seventh International Urban Cooperation programme webinar will be held on 14 November 2019 from 15:00 – 16:30 CET, focusing on gender-equal cities, including overviewing lessons learnt and future perspectives. The webinar is open to all interested persons. Those who join will learn what a gender-equal city looks like, how looking through ...

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Regions in Latin America and Europe meet to present results of their cooperation

On 8-9 October 2019, the IUC programme’s third (and final) region-to-region meeting convened in Brussels (Belgium). There, Latin American regions joined their European counterparts to present the results of their regional cooperation. Twenty Latin American regions from six countries presented the lessons learned a ...

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IUC North America supports delegates to the Ecocity World Summit 2019

Can cities be both ecologically healthy and socially just? This question was at the heart of the 2019 Ecocity World Summit, which convened global representatives in Vancouver (Canada). Attendees and speakers rose to the challenge of digging into difficult topics, demonstrating multiple solutions that are emerging with new lead ...

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New fund announced to support climate resilient city infrastructure projects

Last month, the Global Covenant of Mayors, alongside the Governments of Germany and Luxembourg, announced the launch of the new City Climate Finance Gap Fund. The Fund aims to gather €100 million in grants – including €40 million from the German government and €10 million from Luxembourg – in order to unlock in ...

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Latin American representatives meet in Cartagena to discuss climate financing

Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) partners joined more than 100 representatives from governments, municipalities, development banks, associations of municipalities working to combat climate change, and international organisations in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) on 25-26 September 2019. The workshop, led by IUC-Latin Am ...

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Six more cities in the Indian State of Gujarat commit to the GCoM

At the first India-European Union Forum, which took place 17-18 September 2019 in New Dehli, six more cities from the State of Gujarat in Western India became signatories to the Global Covenant of Mayors. These cities – namely, Ahemadabad, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar and Junagadh – join the municipalities of Sur ...

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Join IUC to discuss leveraging innovation to build smart and resilient cities


The IUC will be hosting an Urban Innovation Session on 16 October from 15:30 to 17:00 in Penang, Malaysia as part of the Seventh Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF). Join this interactive session on how "innovation spaces" can be leveraged to build climate resilient cities and to promote smart solutions devel ...

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IUC to present Cross-Regional Dialogues at the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-7)


Join the IUC programme from 15-17 October in Penang, Malaysia at the Seventh Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF). Since 1993, the APUF has gathered a vast array of stakeholders to discuss, share, and learn about innovative solutions to the region's urban challenges. In the framework of the seventh APUF, which will t ...

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Six more Latin American cities join IUC city-to-city pairings


Six Latin American cities have newly joined the International Urban Cooperation programme (IUC-LAC), following a competitive selection process in which they were chosen among many applicant cities. The newest IUC-LAC cities are Córdoba (Argentina); Barranquilla, Soledad and Cartagena (Colombia); Quilicura (Chile); and São Paulo ...

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Covenant of Mayors Japan holds first Steering Committee meeting in Tokyo


The Steering Committee of the "Covenant of Mayors Japan" had its first formal gathering on 8 August in the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The Steering Committee is comprised of 10 members and includes mayors and representatives of relevant Japanese organisations. In addition to the mayors of the cities of Niseko, ...

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EU cities visit China to discuss energy and smart cities

The EU cities of Rome (Italy), Barcelona and Granada (Spain), and the Stuttgart Region (including Ludwigsburg) in Germany travelled to the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Liuzhou from 9 – 15 June 2019 to meet their counterparts under the IUC programme. The trip was a follow-up to the encounter that took place in the EU in April 2019. In lin ...

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Global Covenant of Mayors launched in the Caribbean

  The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) was launched in the Caribbean region on 12 June in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), during the Caribbean Urban Forum (CUF 2019). The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean (GCoM-LAC) aims to support the efforts of local government ...

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European and Latin American regions exchange knowledge in series of visits

  A number of working visits took place during the month of May between regions of Latin American and European countries, during which the territories from both continents worked together in person to discuss solutions to common problems. The exchanges, which took place in Brazil, Chile and Peru, focused on ways to ...

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GCoM training on target setting and climate action plans held in Malaysia


A Global Covenant of Mayors training on setting emissions reductions targets, led by Dr. Eleonora La Vullo of the European Union’s Joint Research Centre, was recently held for Malaysian cities in Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia). Part of a series of training modules, the first day of module three outlined how local action cou ...

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IUC Latin America and the Caribbean produce over 150 best practice cases

  The Latin America and the Caribbean office of the International Urban Cooperation programme (IUC-LAC) has recently completed the documentation of around 165 sustainable urban development best practice cases in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. Collectively, the case studies outline successes at local, region ...

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Udaipur Municipal Corporation and Aarhus sign IUC partnership agreement

Mayor Chandra Singh Kothari and Municipal Commissioner Ankit Kumar Singh of Udaipur Municipal Corporation signed a partnership agreement last month that committed the city to work together with Aarhus through the IUC progamme. The two cities agree to develop a Local Action Plan on a mutually interesting area of cooperation ...

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IUC North America launches Showcase Cities and Regions initiative

The North America office of the IUC programme will be collaborating with cities and regions in Canada, Mexico and the USA to deepen the technical capacity within local government to develop climate action plans for the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM). A support package will be delivered via contracted technical experts to ensur ...

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Newly launched Resources Database makes IUC knowledge accessible to all

Case studies, webinar recordings, publications, and tools produced by the IUC programme are all available to download in one place thanks to the launch of the IUC programme Resources Database. A series of case studies charting the challenges and successes of cross-border cooperation through the IUC programme have been produ ...

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EU and Japanese cities attend 4th IUC Exchange Meeting


The 4th Exchange Meeting between EU and Japanese cities engaged in the IUC programme took place on 17 May in Tokyo (Japan). The meeting was opened by Ms. Patricia Flor, Ambassador of the European Union to Japan, and Mr. Yoshihiro Seguchi, Deputy Director-General, City Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, both ...

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IUC webinar to provide inspiration on making cities more circular

  The IUC programme will hold the fifth webinar of its ongoing sustainable urban development series on 14th May from 09:30 to 11:00 CEST, titled “From a linear to a circular city - how to get started?”. Registration for the webinar is now open. Focusing on improving waste management and shifting to a circular economy, this ...

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Hilde Hardeman & Lotte Knudsen reflect on the value of the IUC programme

  New York and Barcelona, Sevilla and Vitória, Frankfurt and Yokohama – these pairs of cities are just three examples out of more than 130 working together under the European Union’s International Urban Cooperation programme. As cities across the globe face rising challenges of migration, social inclusion, quality o ...

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Companies, researchers and others invited to contribute to IUC solutions database

  A new database has been launched by the IUC programme to highlight companies, research institutes and other organisations that provide solutions in the field of sustainable urban development. The aim of this database is to make it easier for cities to find useful partners to work with when realising sustainab ...

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Argentine municipalities show their commitment by joining GCoM


Seven Argentine municipalities have joined the Global Covenant of Mayors, displaying their commitment to tackling climate change. The municipalities are: Bell Ville, Caseros, Godoy Cruz, Guaymallén, Monte Buey, Villa General Belgrano and Venado Tuerto. These municipalities will implement a range of energy efficiency measures in ...

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Rotterdam delegation shares approach to water management during Surat visit


Within the framework of the IUC programme and in cooperation with the 100 Resilient Cities initiative, a delegation of five Rotterdam City representatives led by Mr. Arnoud Molenaar, Chief Resilience Officer, and Mr. Henk Ketelaars from the Rotterdam drinking water company Evides, visited the City of Surat (India) fro ...

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Global Covenant of Mayors signing ceremony held in Merida


The start of 2019 saw a Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) Signing Ceremony take place at the Government Palace of the State of Yucatan in Merida (Mexico). As part of the ceremony, 10 Yucatan municipalities were added to the 36 cities that were already part of the Global Covenant of Mayors in Mexico. Around 80 mayors from cities that hav ...

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Delegation from Larissa visits Miraflores to discuss district improvements


A delegation from Larissa (Greece) headed by Vice Mayor Mr. Georgios Soultis traveled to Lima (Peru) earlier this year to meet representatives of the municipality of Miraflores as part of their IUC cooperation. The one week visit gave Miraflores the opportunity to show the delegation their work in a range of sustainabl ...

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Turning wastewater into a valuable resource focus of upcoming IUC webinar


The IUC programme will hold the fourth webinar of its ongoing sustainable urban development series on 10 April from 10:00 to 11:30 CEST. Focusing on choosing locally-appropriate solutions for wastewater management, this edition will feature speakers from the cities of Hamburg (Germany), Aarhus (Denmark), and Nagpur (Ind ...

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IUC webinar to focus on using nature as part of urban flood management


The upcoming IUC webinar 'Integrating Nature-Based Flood Management Into Urban Planning’ is set to take place on Wednesday 27 March 2019 from 16:00 – 17:30 CET. Registration is free of charge and open to all interested parties across the globe. Water is and has been crucial in designing urban spaces and informing urba ...

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IUC programme to hold webinar on international financial sources and institutions


An upcoming International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme webinar will provide local governments with the information needed to successfully access financing for sustainable urban development activities. Taking place on 12 March 2019 from 15.00 – 16.30 CET, the webinar is open to all interested parties from ...

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IUC programme invites EU cities to take part in international pairing


EU cities who wish to exchange with a city facing similar sustainable urban development challenges in another global region are encouraged to apply to take part in the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) city-to-city cooperation programme.  To date, over 60 pairings have been established between local governments in ...

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Latin American municipalities participate in Global Covenant of Mayors training workshops

  The International Urban Cooperation Programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC) organised two workshops this summer for National Coordinators of the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM), covering methodologies, action plans, nationally determined contributions and emblematic cities. The training ...

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Belfast delegation visits Colombia on anniversary of Northern Ireland peace agreement

  Twenty years after the signing of the peace agreement in Northern Ireland, a delegation from the country’s capital, Belfast, visited Colombia to work with the cities of Medellín and Cali on post-conflict management and the reduction of urban violence. The Northern Ireland delegation visited Cali from No ...

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GCoM promoted at Smart City Expo LATAM Congress


The IUC North America office selected the Smart City Expo LATAM Congress, which took place in Puebla (Mexico) from 11 – 13 September, as a venue to strongly promote the Global Covenant of Mayors. Mayors from Mexican and Latin American cities formalised their commitment to the initiative, demonstrating their ambition in the areas of mitigation ...

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Nagpur and Karlsruhe agree to cooperate on sustainable urban mobility challenges

  Within the framework of the European Union - International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme, a delegation of five Karlsruhe City representatives led by the Head of the Economic Development Department, Mr. Ralf Eichhorn and the Head of Urban Planning Office, Ms. Anke Karmann Woessner, visited the City of Nagpur ...

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Panaji and Dubrovnik have a chance to explore their similarities and cooperate under the IUC Programme

  Within the framework of the European Union, International Urban Cooperation programme, a delegation of five Dubrovnik City representatives led by the honourable president of city council, Mr. Marko Potrebica, has visited the City of Panaji between 13-16th of November 2018. The Croatian del ...

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Vijayawada visits Hamburg to view urban development success stories


As part of the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme, a delegation of six Vijayawada City representatives, led by the Honourable Mayor Mr. Koneru Sreedhar and the Honourable Municipal Commissioner Mr. Nivas Janardhanan, visited the City of Hamburg from 3 - 7 December 2018. The Indian delegation witnessed best practi ...

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Kamakura and Umeå find common ground for dialogue with citizens


On October 21, 2018, three city planners from Kamakura City arrived at Umeå airport in the north of Sweden. Kamakura and Umeå have been selected to form a city-to-city partnership within the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme promoted by the EU. Ms. Kaori Aoki, Mr. Koji Iizumi and Ms. Naomi Kato came to Umeå fo ...

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Kochi and Vilnius boost cooperation on urban issues through city visit


Within the framework of the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme, a delegation of five Kochi City representatives, led by the honourable Deputy Mayor Mr. T.J. Vinod, visited the City of Vilnius from 5 - 9 November, 2018. The Indian delegation learned best practices from urban development projects in the Lithuani ...

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EU and Japanese cities hold third exchange meeting to discuss progress


The 3rd IUC Exchange Meeting of EU and Japanese cities took place on 11 October in Brussels (Belgium), following the 2nd IUC City-to-City event. It was the third opportunity for the five pairings established in 2017 to meet and discuss their progress to date. During the meeting, the results of the five EU cities’ study t ...

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Frankfurt and Yokohama discuss path to carbon neutrality during study tour

A delegation from the City of Yokohama (Japan) engaged in an exchange of views on climate change initiatives and smart cities during a visit to the City of Frankfurt am Main (Germany) from 20 – 22 August, 2018 as part of the IUC programme. The visit saw delegates tour Frankfurt to learn more about urban development, inc ...

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Cargo railway between Mannheim and Chongqing commences operation


On the morning of 25th October 2018, the direct connection for freight trains from Mannheim (Germany) to Chongqing in China was officially put into operation. This is one of the key pilot projects of the Mannheim – Chongqing cooperation within the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) project. Establishing a direct cargo rail ...

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European and global cities chart path to sustainable urban development at IUC event


Over 250 representatives of local and regional governments from across the world gathered on 10 October 2018 in Brussels (Belgium) at the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme’s second annual City-to-City event. The one day conference saw delegates discuss ongoing sustainable urban development pilo ...

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Gwalior delegation visit local start-ups in Leuven

The IUC programme has boosted cooperation between the City of Gwalior (India) and the City of Leuven (Brussels) on urban issues. A delegation of four Gwalior City representatives led by the deputy mayor Mr. Rakesh Mahor, visited the City of Leuven from 27 to 31 August, 2018, where they were welcomed by the mayor and the deputy mayor of the Belgian ...

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IUC event: Local and National Partnerships Driving Sustainable Urban Development

Local and regional governments can act as a key partner to national governments as they implement the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as the New Urban Agenda and other international commitments: ...

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CoM Japan sees interest from Japanese cities rise


Since August 2018, the Covenant of Mayors Japan has been registering commitment letters by mayors, with 15 cities registered to date. The Draft Implementation Guidelines for the Covenant of Mayors Japan have been prepared and the website renewed. A brochure to explain the commitment procedures and the follow-up actions was distributed to 47 p ...

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City of Solapur delegation visits the City of Murcia to exchange on urban issues

A delegation of five Solapur City representatives led by Mayor Shobha Srishail Banshetty and Municipal Commissioner Dr. Avinash Dhakne visited the City of Murcia (Spain) from 3–7 September 2018. The Indian delegation got to witness urban development projects in Murcia focused on smart city initiatives, potable water ...

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IUC programme announces US - EU city partnerships

Following a competitive application process, five major cities in the United States have been selected by the IUC programme to pair with European Union cities. The paired cities will work together for at least 14 months to tackle mutual sustainable urban development challenges. The following partnerships were established, based on shared characteri ...

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Surat and Rotterdam cooperate to meet urban water challenges

The Municipality of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) will work together with Surat Municipal Corporation (India) on urban water management as part of their IUC programme cooperation, focusing on flood risk management, urban drainage and wastewater management.
With the aid of Rotterdam, Surat will soon apply new flood forecasting and wate ...

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Mannheim signs MoU supporting goal of Chongqing freight connection

The 9 of July saw a significant development in the IUC pairing between the City of Mannheim (Germany) and the city of Chongqing (China), with Mannheim signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chongqing-based Yuxinou Logistics Company for the creation of a direct cargo railway line between the two cities. The signing took ...

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New regions selected to take part in IUC inter-regional cooperation programme

Further regions from Latin America and the Caribbean have been selected to cooperate with regional European counterparts on mutual challenges as part of the IUC inter-regional cooperation programme. These partnerships will focus on local and regional development, increasing research and innovation opportunities, and meeti ...

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June IUC webinar to focus on smart and inclusive mobility

Achieving sustainable mobility on an urban scale is not only a question of technology and infrastructural change; it also requires a shift in mindset. By facilitating alternative modes of moving around our public spaces, such as public transport, car sharing and freight rail, as well as encouraging cycling and walking, we can make our cities ...

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International ministers and mayors discuss "Innovate4Cities - a global climate action accelerator"

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) and the City of Malmö hosted a first of its kind roundtable with mayors, researchers and business representatives on cities-focused climate science during the 3rd Mission Innovation Ministerial meeting in Malmö (Sweden) on 23 May 2018, ba ...

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The Global Covenant of Mayors expands its presence in Latin America

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy is becoming more and more visible across Latin America. The regional website has been updated and now shows all committed cities, as well as information on the Global Covenant of Mayors for Latin America and the Caribbean (GCoM-LAC) governance structure. The GCoM-LAC has been st ...

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Setting up the Covenant of Mayors Japan

With a view to launching the Covenant of Mayors in Japan, two preparatory meetings were held in March 2018. Experts were invited from the cities which were already signatories of what was the Compact of Mayors or Japanese Covenant of Mayors, as well as from ICLEI Japan, an important local government network in Japan. From the five cities which had already sig ...

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Urban Agenda for the EU invites citizens to discuss EU policies

In 2016, the Pact of Amsterdam established the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU), which aims to ensure better regulation, better funding and better knowledge to achieve smart, inclusive and sustainable cities by 2020. The UAEU considers the importance of local and regional authorities’ involvement in EU policies, as formulated in the Li ...

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IUC North America takes part in SXSW festival

South by Southwest (SXSW) is the leading conference and festival in the United States devoted to the convergence of the music, film, and digital industries. EU@SXSW is organized by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.  In March, the IUC-NA programme participated in the EU@SXSW events and SXSW City Summit events. Representative ...

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Global Covenant of Mayors launches regional chapter in South Asia

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), an international coalition of city leaders committed to raising the global ambition for climate action, launched on 5 May 2018 a regional chapter for South Asia in New Delhi, India. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy - South Asia (GCoM-SA) aims to supp ...

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Chinese cities attend IUC start-up workshop in Beijing

Now in its second year, the IUC programme welcomed the second group of Chinese cities selected to work with European counterparts to enhance sustainable development. The five Chinese cities selected to take part in the second round of pairings are: Haikou (Hainan province), Kunming (Yunnan province), Liuzhou (Guangxi province), Yantai (Shandong ...

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Indian cities ready to cooperate with Europe

Half of the 32 Indian cities approached by the European Union Ambassador to India flagged their interest in working with European local governments to share knowledge on sustainable urban development through the IUC programme. Following a review of the applications, the Indian Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, in cooperation with the European Union, ...

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Brazilian Cities join the Global Covenant of Mayors

On 19 October 2017, Salvador, the capital of Bahia (Brazil), signed the Commitment Letter of the Global Covenant of Mayors, becoming the first city in Latin America to renew its commitment to the global initiative. Mr. Antônio Carlos Magalhães Neto, Mayor of Salvador, co-signed the document with Mr. João Cravinho, the European Union Ambassador ...

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Global Covenant of Mayors launches in Chile

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in Latin America (GCoM-LAC) was launched in Chile during the third Chilean Mayors Forum on Climate Change (Foro de Alcaldes ante el Cambio Climático Chile-2017), an event attended by national and local authorities, representatives of international partners, and civil society stakeholders. Ms Stella Ze ...

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World Bank announces partnership with Global Covenant of Mayors

At the One Planet Summit in Paris, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and the World Bank Group, the world’s largest multilateral development bank, announced a new partnership to provide technical and financial assistance to 150 cities across the world undertaking climate action programmes. The World Bank’s inve ...

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Chinese and EU cities carry out mutual visits

EU and Chinese pilot cities as well as leaders from the NDRC and the EU Delegation to China attended a workshop in Beijing (China) in October 2017 to propose and discuss the methodology for city cooperation under the IUC programme framework. Following the half-day workshop, around 12 delegates from four EU pilot cities - Mannheim (Germany), Malaga (Spa ...

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IUC programme launches second round of city-to-city pairings

The call for applications for the second round of the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme’s city-to-city pairing initiative was officially launched today at the 2018 World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The initiative will see European local governments matched with international counterparts facing similar sustaina ...

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