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ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network working with more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development.

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03 June 2024

Daring Cities 2024 comes to Bonn alongside the UNFCCC climate talks, elevating multilevel action to tackle the climate emergency

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Fifth annual event features first-ever joint public appearance of  UN COP28 and COP29 High-Level Climate Champions and exchanges across all levels of government

3 June 2024 (Bonn, Germany). The fifth edition of Daring Cities Bonn Dialogues kicks off today, and runs through 5 June, alongside the annual UNFCCC Bonn Climate Conference. Co-convened by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and the Federal City of Bonn, Daring Cities 2024 – Bonn Dialogues brings together key actors in the urban climate space for high-level discussions to help drive the implementation of ambitious, inclusive and multilevel climate action, especially in the context of the gains made by subnational governments at COP28 to ensure recognition and financial support.

The event includes a plenary featuring the first-ever joint public dialogue of UN COP28 and COP29 High-Level Climate Champions, Razan Al Mubarak and Nigar Arpadarai, respectively. They will be joined by mayors, including Axel Grael, Mayor of Niterói, Brazil, and Georges Youssef, Mayor of Menjez, Lebanon, who are leading ambitious local climate action and are actively involved in both national and global networks. Alongside subnational leaders and other representatives, the event will discuss insights and strategies for multilevel climate action.

Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues also features a closed door roundtable of national governments who endorsed the COP28 Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP), which was created to enhance cooperation between national and subnational governments in the planning, financing, implementation, and monitoring of climate strategies. The goal of the roundtable is to give endorsers and their strategic partners a platform to exchange on what’s working and guide the implementation of CHAMP toward COP30.

Gino Van Begin, Secretary-General of ICLEI, says: “COP28’s outcomes and its further mobilization around the world have demonstrated that multilevel action is the best tool to connect communities and economy to national climate plans and the global climate agenda. This fifth edition of Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues is committed to building momentum for COP28’s CHAMP initiative by engaging directly with national governments to foster multilevel collaboration for enhanced NDCs towards COP30 in 2025. I look forward to seeing this multilevel action spirit put in motion through the high-level dialogues between UN COP28 and COP29 High-Level Climate Champions, alongside mayors and subnational leaders.”

Mr. Van Begin adds, “I am grateful for the continuous support of Mayor Katja Dörner -and in her capacity as Vice President of the Association of German Cities- and the City of Bonn, as well as our partners, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Savings Bank, and all the daring leaders joining us worldwide. Together, we are creating a community that envisions what we want our cities, towns and regions to look like by 2030 and beyond.”

Katja Dörner, Mayor of Bonn and ICLEI Global Executive Committee Member, emphasizes: “Bonn is not only on the way to climate neutrality by 2035, but we are also strategically positioning ourselves in the areas of biodiversity, climate adaptation and resilience. This includes always thinking about climate protection and climate adaptation as well as nature and soil together – it is best when a measure can have multiple effects. This often works very well at the local level, the level of implementation, and I am delighted that the three globally responsible conventions are currently intensifying their cooperation.”

Later events will focus on cities, buildings and urban systems, and urban loss and damage, underscoring cities’ pivotal role in the climate emergency response. In addition, ICLEI, as the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency focal point, will also facilitate the engagement of local and other subnational governments in the negotiation and dialogue agenda of the 60th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) Bonn Climate Change Conference, especially on just transition, urbanization as a non-market approach, annual stocktake and UNFCCC Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action. More information here.

Under the theme “Powering collective action to respond to the climate emergency,” Daring Cities 2024 aims to elevate multilevel climate action by providing a platform where local and regional leaders can significantly influence global climate policy. This edition focuses on advancing dynamic collaborations across all levels of government, especially on the implementation of historic UNFCCC COP28 UAE outcomes on multilevel climate action, and linking the climate agenda to sustainable urbanization as we move towards the upcoming COPs in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Belém, Brazil.

Daring Cities 2024 is supported by major contributions from its partners, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Savings Bank in Bonn. 

A live broadcast of the Plenary “Insights for Multilevel Action” which features the two High-Level Champions will be available here. The event is followed by roundtable discussions focusing on NDCs, just transitions, the upcoming IPCC Report on Cities and Climate, and fostering synergies between climate, nature, and land.

The full agenda for the Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues can be found here.

Daring Cities 2024 continues with the Daring Cities Virtual Forum from August to October, spotlighting Town Hall COPs as an innovative mechanism linking climate emergency action to national and global efforts.

Daring Cities 2024 concludes with a critical phase of advocacy for integrating local and regional climate action into national and global agendas. This cornerstone extends the reach of Daring Cities 2024 beyond its immediate community, empowering representatives to carry the event’s key messages to major international environmental conferences, starting with those of Urban October and concluding with COP29.

For more information about Daring Cities 2024, visit daringcities.org.

Download the press release PDF here.

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NOTE TO EDITORS

About ICLEI:

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (known as “ICLEI”) is a global network of more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 125+ countries, ICLEI influences sustainability policy and drives local action for low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development. ICLEI Members and its team of experts work together through peer exchange, partnerships and capacity building to create systemic change for urban sustainability. 

To learn more about ICLEI, visit: https://iclei.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

CONTACT

For media inquiries, please contact:

Ariel Dekovic, Head of Global Communications, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

World Secretariat (Bonn, Germany)

Phone: +49 (0)177 190 2830| Email: ​ariel.dekovic@iclei.org 

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