From 22-25 June in Tangier, Morocco, the UCLG World Congress and World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders brought together local and regional governments, international organizations, researchers and partners under the theme “New Generation of Universal Local Public Services.” As a longstanding partner of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), ICLEI contributed to key political discussions, reinforcing the role of cities and regions in shaping global agendas and accelerating climate implementation.
Addressing the UCLG General Assembly, ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin highlighted the growing importance of local leadership in a changing global landscape. “To ICLEI, local and regional governments are not a means to an end. They are the answer to some of the most pressing challenges of our time,” he said.
Calling for stronger multilevel governance and greater recognition of local action, he added: “ICLEI stands with UCLG in calling for multilevel governance as a practice, not a principle. Direct access to climate finance. Formal inclusion in the design of NDCs. Legal frameworks that empower subnational governments and accountability systems that recognize what they deliver.”
Participating in the roundtable on Multilevel Governance, Finance and Justice-Based Climate Action on the Road to COP31, Ursula Sautter, Deputy Mayor of Bonn, Germany, who serves on the ICLEI Global Executive Committee leading the UN Sustainability Governance Portfolio, emphasized: “We know that the local level is the level of action – and also, that we need to be fully enabled to act as partners instead of sole implementers.”
Deputy Mayor Sautter also represented the German section of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and participated in the Women’s Assembly, which focused on the future of the feminist municipal movement. Her nomination to the UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality further underscores the City of Bonn’s commitment to gender equality and inclusive local governance.
ICLEI’s engagement extended across several high-level discussions. In a session organized by the Mediterranean Climate House Foundation, of which ICLEI is a partner, Secretary General Van Begin joined ICLEI Vice President Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen and UCLG Special Envoy, to strengthen the voice of Mediterranean cities and regions in the climate agenda on the road to COP31.
Throughout the week, Kobie Brand, ICLEI Deputy Secretary General and Regional Director of ICLEI Africa, also joined UCLG Africa incoming Secretary General, François Menguelé, to reflect on the strong collaboration needed to advance local action across the continent.
Representing ICLEI South America, Maria Julia Reyna, Director of ICLEI Argentina and the Southern Cone, together with the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI), also convened the session IberAtlas: From Shared Knowledge to Local Climate Action, showcasing how cities are addressing urban heat through science, local innovation and peer learning. Representatives from ICLEI Member cities including Montevideo (Uruguay), São Paulo (Brazil) and Bogotá (Colombia) shared practical experiences from the Urban Climate Atlas of Ibero-America (IberAtlas), demonstrating the value of collaborative knowledge for local climate action.
The Congress also marked the launch of the two-volume publication Local Multilateralism and Paradiplomacy in a Time of Change, developed in partnership with UCLG and published by TIP. The journal includes the academic paper “Building a seat at the multilateral table: influence actions of UCLG and ICLEI on global development agendas in the 2020–2025 period,” which analyzes how both networks have shaped major global processes including CHAMP, the Pact for the Future and international finance reform. As founding members of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, UCLG and ICLEI have played a decisive role in ensuring that the territorial perspective is integrated into global development agendas.
The Congress reaffirmed that collaboration between city networks is not only valuable, but essential. As Gino Van Begin emphasized, local and regional governments are where public service is most directly felt and where global commitments become real for people and communities. ICLEI is proud to stand alongside UCLG and partners in this work, strengthening local to global multilateralism as a practical pathway for trust, delivery and hope.
Mediterranean partnerships ahead of a Mediterranean COP
The week saw the launch of the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Steering Committee of the Mediterranean Climate House Foundation, held on 22 June on the sidelines of the UCLG World Congress. The gathering marked the official launch of a high-level body that brings together local and regional governments, international organizations, finance institutions, and knowledge partners to accelerate territorial climate action across one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.
This partner platform will be especially important as we work towards COP31 in Türkiye, COP32 in Ethiopia and the next MedCOP in April 2027 in Tangier. The Mediterranean, linking Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, is a strategic gateway that provides a unique opportunity to strengthen meaningful cooperation across all these regions, while accelerating scaled climate action.
Speaking at the meeting, Kobie Brand expressed, “On behalf of ICLEI, I am honoured to serve on the Strategic Steering Committee of the Mediterranean Climate House Foundation. This is a timely and strategic platform for turning climate ambition into action, where it matters most: in communities, cities, local governments and territories on the frontline of climate impacts. Stronger multilevel governance and locally accessible finance solutions are no longer optional. This is how accelerated climate action becomes impactful and sustainable.”