The experience of urban decision-makers leading in the climate emergency

ICLEI and the Federal City of Bonn welcome you to Daring Cities, a global forum on climate change for urban leaders taking on the climate emergency. Daring Cities is designed to empower urban decision-makers – such as mayors, city councilors, administrators, and urban thought leaders, as well as national government representatives, researchers, technical staff, business leaders, civil society decision-makers, and community organizers – to lead in the climate emergency.

Daring Cities 2025 kicked off!

 

Under the theme “Stronger national climate plans through multilevel action,” we’re excited to launch Daring Cities 2025, the sixth edition of this annual event, which serves as a pivotal platform for local and regional governments to influence global climate negotiations.

Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues highlights

Cities and regions lead climate action at Bonn Climate Talks with COP30 agenda

  • From Bonn to Belém: How national commitments and cities together can deliver a climate-ready future

    Mayors, subnational and national leaders, alongside key representatives in the urban climate space, convened on 18 June at the Bonn Dialogues to reflect on how to strengthen national climate plans through multilevel action. The event highlighted the importance of partnerships to deliver not just ambitious plans, but real climate action for a thriving future.

  • South Africa becomes first country to endorse Town Hall COPs as a multilevel climate solution

    South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment announced its official endorsement of the Town Hall COP Initiative, the first-ever national government to do so. In partnership, ICLEI and the South African Local Government Association will offer a series of Town Hall COPs in communities across the country.
  • Equipping local leaders and their communities to drive climate action at home

    On 17 June 2025, the 2nd CHAMP UNFCCC Focal Point Dialogue provided a platform for national government endorsers and their strategic partners to assess progress and guide CHAMP’s implementation toward COP30

Daring Cities 2025 Virtual Forum

From August to October, policymakers, urban practitioners, technical experts, researchers, private sector stakeholders, NGO representatives, and the entire Daring Cities community engaged in our dynamic virtual offerings and training workshops. These sessions explored diverse topics on integrated and holistic approaches to tackling the climate emergency, such as the interconnected factors between food and nature within urban policies and the Town Hall COPs initiative.

The Daring Cities Virtual Forum is a free, globally-accessible program of solution-oriented online events exploring strategies to tackle the climate emergency.

More about Daring Cities

The Federal City of Bonn

An ICLEI Member since 2000, the Federal City of Bonn, Germany, is the seat of the ICLEI World Secretariat, and Lord Mayor Katja Dörner currently serves as Chair of the Climate Action Governance Portfolio for the ICLEI Global Executive Committee. The City is constantly working on improving its sustainable performance by adopting local action programs, successfully establishing forms of cooperation with cities all over the world, and by launching activities that advance sustainable development.