Today at COP28, ICLEI focused on the role that cities play in inspiring food and climate action and how to localise the European Green Deal.

Cities consume 70% of total food production and have an enormous reduction potential in terms of food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. This means that the food and climate battle will be won or lost at the city level.

The COP Presidency hosted the session entitled “Cities Leading the Way on Sustainable Food and Climate” to demonstrate how cities are taking the initiative to transform their food systems and drive climate action. Co-led by ICLEI CityFood, C40 and the High Level Climate Champions, mayors and city leaders flanked by youth activists, food and advocacy experts reflected the essential nature of multi-stakeholder leadership to enact this meaningful change at the local and national level. Leaders discussed the urgency of reforming our broken food system to take collaborative action and the need for a more substantial commitment from governments at all levels to create a sustainable and resilient future. As Principal Advocacy Expert and  Global CityFood Program Coordinator, Peter Defranceschi, put it food systems transformation is quite literally at the root of climate action.

In a session “Local Green Deals: implementing the Green Deal Industrial Plan at local level”, Local Green Deals were presented as use cases, with an emphasis on concrete coalitions with local businesses, industry, social economy actors and civil society organisations in specific ecosystems.

Valentina Superti, Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs highlighted how Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are part of the European Green Deal’s objectives for industry and that cities and businesses are key actors to make this happen.

Mayors from ICLEI Member cities also emphasised the key role that cities play in localising the European Green Deal and how this can serve as a roadmap for a competitive economy. Ricardo Rio, Mayor of ICLEI Member Braga (Portugal) shared how Local Green Deals across Europe reflect the key role of cities and that they are an excellent tool to help attract investment.

Lasse Frimand Jensen, Mayor of ICLEI Member Aalborg (Denmark) spoke of the importance of collaboration in realising LGDs, saying that cities cannot reach their targets alone. The green transition requires collaboration with a variety of actors, including businesses, as sustainable business development can contribute to a more resilient economy. Aalborg will host ICLEI’s flagship conference European Sustainable Cities and Towns in October 2024 with a particular focus on localising the European Green Deal.

As this year’s United Nations climate negotiations continue, stay tuned for more updates from COP28.