ICLEI European Secretariat

ICLEI European Secretariat

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Policy & Advocacy

As an international local government association, ICLEI is involved in many advocacy and policy-making activities. ICLEI works with a range of institutions, including the European Commission, European Parliament, various UN institutions, the Council of Europe, and Baltic 21, as well as many national bodies.

ICLEI is a founding and active member of the European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign. European members of ICLEI's Executive Committee play high level political roles in liaison with the ICLEI European Secretariat.

Key documents include:

For further information on ICLEI's international strategy, click here.

 

Advocating for sustainable change

ICLEI is actively involved in a number of processes and initiatives which fall under several topics:

Sustainability:

  • ICLEI was selected as a member of the jury for the European Green Capital Award of 2010 and 2011 and has been asked to take on this role once again for the 2012 and 2013 Awards.

  • The Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign has been co-managed and supported by ICLEI since its launch at the first conference in Aalborg, Denmark, in 1994.  In 2004 the conference was staged in Aalborg once again and served as starting point for the next decade of action for local sustainabilty in the Campaign framework, with the agreement on the Aalborg Commitments. In 2006, the renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy was adopted in the European Council. The Strategy acknowledges the important role of Local Agenda 21 processes and the Aalborg Commitments in implementing it’s objectives.

  • ICLEI's campaigns, programmes, and projects promote Local Agenda 21 as a participatory, long-term, strategic planning process that addresses local sustainability while protecting global common goods. Linking local action to internationally agreed upon goals and targets such as Agenda 21, the Rio Conventions, the Habitat Agenda, the Millennium Development Goals and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation is an essential component.

Procurement:

  • ICLEI has been running sustainable public procurement awareness-raising campaigns since 1996, with peak periods between 2002 and 2004 in connection with the ruling from the European Court of Justice in favor of environmental criteria, and during the negotiations on the then new EU Public Procurement Directives - 2004/17 and 2004/18. Since 2006, ICLEI has been supporting the work of the European Commission regarding green public procurement (GPP), contributing expertise to discussions held by the GPP Expert Group of the EU-27, chaired by DG Environment. ICLEI also takes part in the United Nations Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Public Procurement, launched in June 2007.

    To learn more more about ICLEI's work in this area, visit our page on Sustainable Procurement.

Climate:

  • The Local Climate Action Roadmap for Cities and Local Governments, was started by ICLEI and several other leading Local Governments Associations in 2007. The Roadmap works towards the UNFCC Conference of the Parties (COPs) and advocates for a strong and comprehensive post-2012 global climate agreement, which recognises key role of cities and local governments in climate protection.

  • The role of ICLEI within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is to ensure that the local government viewpoint is heard, and that a united worldwide local authority response to climate change is taken into account during important international negotiations, ICLEI holds official Observer status with the UNFCCC, and is the lead organisation representing local governments at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP).

    To learn more more about ICLEI's work in this area, visit our page on Climate Change Mitigation.

Energy:

  • ICLEI is a Supporting Structure to the Covenant of Mayors, and pledges to promote the initiative, liaise with ICLEI members to help them fulfill their commitment to reduce their CO2 emissions, facilitate exchanges of experience and convey the message of the Covenant.

    To learn more more about ICLEI's work in this area, visit our page on Energy.

Water:

  • ICLEI is a key player in promoting sustainable water management at local level through bringing the Istanbul Water Consensus to the attention of national governments and international organisations. The Consensus was launched by Istanbul's Mayor Kadir Topbaş in March 2008, and developed in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the World Water Council.

    To learn more more about ICLEI's work in this area, visit our page on Water.