Media - Daring Cities

[photos] Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues: Gallery

Explore our Flickr photo album capturing all the memorable moments we brought from 16–18 June 2025.

[video] Multilevel action for a thriving future

Watch our recap video, where bold leaders share their insights on the much-needed multilevel climate action, not only to face climate change, but to thrive in spite of it.

[blog post] 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.

[mailer] Daring Cities 2025: Insights from the Bonn Dialogues

Running from 16 to 18 June, alongside the UNFCCC SB62 sessions, the sixth edition of the Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues served as a mid-year platform for local and regional leaders to take stock, exchange insights, and mobilize action toward and beyond COP30.

[news] 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.

[blog post] 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.

[news] Designing for Delivery: New white paper offers roadmap for fundable climate transitions

At the Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues on 18 June, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and ClimateView, a Swedish technology company that empowers the public sector to make data-informed decisions and investments in the transition, unveiled Version 1.0 of their new white paper, Designing for Delivery: How Cities Can Structure Fundable Climate Transitions.

[launch] LGMA Constituency releases COP30 Vision Letter for SB62

The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency is the voice of towns, cities, regions, and all other subnationals in the UNFCCC processes. At the Daring Cities Bonn Dialogues, the LGMA COP30 Vision Letter was launched, outlining priorities and proposals towards, in, and beyond Belém.

[blog post] How youth are shaping local to global climate action through Town Hall COPs

As a community-centered process, the Town Hall COP Initiative is redefining what multilevel climate action looks like, calling for the inclusion of a diverse range of voices, from local government representatives and civil society to the private sector, youth, and other actors who form the backbone of their communities.

[blog post] An urban COP30 may be coming. Are national plans ready for it?

On 17 June, the high-level side event “Urban COP30 and beyond: Multilevel action and sustainable urbanization to deliver on the Paris Agreement” brought together national and local leaders to launch new guidelines and chart a shared path toward more ambitious, inclusive, and multilevel national climate plans.

[blog post] Cities, climate, and convergence: What the first Annual Review on the Rio Conventions tells us

On 16 June, the first-ever Annual Review of Local and Subnational Action on the Rio Conventions marked a new space for local and subnational voices to reflect on and help shape the future of climate, biodiversity, and land governance.

[mailer] Watch "Insights for Multilevel Action" live

Join us online for our event “Insights for Multilevel Action,” spotlighting strategies to advance multilevel climate action. Plus, catch up with the latest updates at the SB62.

[press release] Daring Cities 2025 kicks off in Bonn alongside UN climate talks to strengthen national climate plans through multilevel action

The sixth edition of the Daring Cities Bonn Dialogues begins today and runs through 18 June, taking place alongside the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB62). Co-convened by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and the Federal City of Bonn, Germany, this year’s event brings together worldwide local, regional, and national leaders, alongside key actors in the urban climate space to scale ambitious, inclusive, and multilevel climate action.

[mailer] Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues starts today

From today until 18 June, the sixth edition of Daring Cities Bonn Dialogues brings together 150 participants, including over 50 local, regional, and national leaders from five continents, to accelerate bold, inclusive climate action.

[blog post] How Daring Cities 2025 is mobilizing multilevel action

Wrapping up Cornerstone I “Reflect” of Daring Cities 2025, which oriented the discussion on past climate initiatives, the event now transitions into Cornerstone II “Exchange," which kicks off with the Daring Cities Bonn Dialogues, followed by the Daring Cities Virtual Forum, running from July to October. Explore what Daring Cities 2025 is bringing to the table.

[blog post] On the road to COP30: Reflecting on how multilevel action can strengthen national climate plans

Daring Cities’ 2025 Cornerstone I – Reflect – brought together local leaders and climate representatives virtually to discuss how to build on past climate initiatives, especially those stemming from COP28 and COP29.

[video] Reflections from Brazil: Multilevel climate action and governance

In this video message presented at Daring Cities 2025, André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 President, reaffirms Brazil's commitment to integrating diverse stakeholders, emphasizing the role of mayors and subnational governments in shaping the COP30 agenda. Hear from Antonio Da Costa e Silva, Chief International Advisor at the Brazilian Ministry of Cities, and other leaders, as they refer to Brazil’s NDC 3.0, climate federalism, and the CHAMP initiative.

[blog post] Daring to lead: Six cities driving climate action

Daring Cities 2024 brought local and regional leaders together to exchange solutions and strategies for tackling the climate emergency. Key findings emerged around multilevel governance, bottom-up approaches, and integrated solutions, showcased through real-life cases that inspire bold, transformative action.

[mailer] Join the Daring Cities 2024 Virtual Forum

From August to October, you can join policymakers, urban practitioners, technical experts, researchers, private sector stakeholders, NGO representatives, and the entire Daring Cities community, to engage in our dynamic virtual offerings and training workshops. These sessions will explore diverse topics, such as the interconnected factors between food and nature within urban policies, with insightful discussions and real-life city examples.

[blog post] Cities and regions step up multilevel climate action momentum at SB60

At the midpoint between COP28 and COP29, the Bonn Climate Talks (SB60), held in Bonn, Germany during these past two weeks, built upon last year’s outcomes from Dubai, aiming to drive progress and prepare decisions for adoption in Baku in November 2024. Running alongside the SB60 sessions on 3-5 June, Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues embodied multilevel action by positioning cities and regions at the center of global climate discussions.

[mailer] Insights from two weeks of Climate Dialogues

Cities and regions step up multilevel climate action momentum at SB60, What's next for Daring Cities?

[Photos] Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues: Gallery

Flip through our gallery of photos from the Bonn Dialogues.

[blog post] LGMA dialogue on cities, buildings and urban systems

On 5 June, the Local Governments and Municipal Authority (LGMA) Constituency convened a closed dialogue with Lola Vallejo and Dr. Amr Abdel-Aziz, Co-Chairs of the UNFCCC Sharm El Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme, focusing on this year’s theme, “Cities: Buildings and Urban Systems.”

[blog post] Understanding urban loss: A step toward climate justice

Loss and Damage is a crucial concept in the global climate dialogue, addressing the adverse effects of climate change that cannot be avoided through mitigation and adaptation efforts. This blog delves into the latest discussions from Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues and the SB60 in Bonn, shedding light on the progress and challenges on Loss and Damage.

[blog post] Setting up a multilevel COP29: UN High-Level Climate Champions elevate the importance of subnationals and launch COP29 action agenda

On 5 June during the “Dialogue on multilevel partnerships for enhanced NDCs”, organized under the umbrella of Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues at the SB60 sessions, proposed a fruitful discussion on strengthening multilevel partnerships to enhance Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

[blog post] Catalyzing multilevel climate action: CHAMP endorsers strategize together at Daring Cities roundtable

“The climate crisis is global. But the work to address it is global, national, regional and local” – Axel Schmidt Grael, Mayor of Niterói, Brazil and Chair of the ICLEI Climate Action Support Portfolio, during the CHAMP endorser roundtable on 4 June, under the umbrella of Daring Cities Bonn Dialogues 2024.

[blog post] Multilevel action for a 1.5 °C future

The COP29 High-Level Climate Champion, alongside mayors, subnational leaders and other representatives, convened at the Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues to reflect on the much-needed multilevel climate action to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals. The event highlighted the importance of vertical and horizontal collaboration on a global scale to tackle the climate emergency head-on.

[mailer] New ICLEI President and Vice Presidents announced - will steer largest city sustainability network

Today is World Environment Day, a timely celebration as local and subnational leaders are convening in Bonn, Germany, to highlight the importance of multilevel action to tackle the climate emergency at the annual Bonn Climate Talks (SB60) and Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues.

[mailer] Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues kicks off today

From today until 5 June, this edition of Daring Cities Bonn Dialogues brings together key actors in the urban climate space for high-level discussions focusing especially on the implementation of historic COP28 outcomes on multilevel climate action and linking the climate agenda to sustainable urbanization.

[press release] Daring Cities 2024 comes to Bonn with the UNFCCC climate talks, advancing strategies to climate emergency

Bonn Dialogues brings together key actors in the urban climate space for high-level discussions to help drive the implementation of ambitious and multilevel action, in the context of the gains made by subnational governments at COP28 to ensure recognition and financial support.

[mailer] Bonn elevates multilevel action to tackle the climate emergency

Held June 3-5, Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues gathers urban climate leaders to discuss implementing COP28 UAE outcomes and linking climate action to sustainable urbanization.

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