On 4 November, the G7 Sustainable Urban Development Ministers met in Rome (Italy) to propose a set of joint actions aimed at advancing urban transformations. Among the list of joint actions, the Ministers included the explicit recommendation to formally include cities in the G7 decision-making process. Ministers recommended future G7 presidencies in their final Meeting Communiqué to recognise the Urban7 (U7), which unites local government networks from G7 nations, as an official G7 engagement group. Despite cities being home to the majority of G7 citizens, local governments are not yet systematically consulted by national governments on critical decisions that affect their communities.

During the meeting, Roberto Pella, Mayor of Valdengo (Italy) and Acting President of the Italian association of municipalities ANCI, and Eckart Würzner, Mayor of ICLEI Member Heidelberg (Germany) and representative of the German Städtetag, joined the meeting as city representatives on behalf of the U7. During the meeting, U7 representatives welcomed the recommendation to recognise the U7 and laid out concrete enabling conditions for cities to play a leading role in the economic and social transformations needed for a sustainable and prosperous future. They especially highlighted the need for facilitating more horizontal cooperation between national and local governments and strengthening local investment capacities. Regular dialogues between national ministries, local and regional governments, the private sector, and financial institutions are a key condition for fostering comprehensive transformation strategies and addressing the public funding gap for climate neutrality efforts locally.

"Our towns are the future,” said Eckart Würzner, Mayor of ICLEI Member Heidelberg. “Cities are best positioned to lead their local transformations through holistic actions, but the frameworks we, as city representatives, operate under are often set without our involvement. We are grateful to the Urban Development Ministers of the G7 and the Italian presidency for taking this first, vital step by recommending that cities be consulted more systematically. Formal recognition of the U7 as an engagement group would ensure that cities’ voices are heard on all key issues."

In their Meeting Communiqué, the Ministers committed to establishing a shared understanding of effective urban development policy and unlock the full potential of cities. A dialogue and process to be continued in 2025, when Canada will take over the G7 presidency from Italy with the opportunity to finalise the formal engagement of the U7. The position of the U7 on “Boosting Progress towards G7 Objective through Sustainable Cities, Urbanization and Multilevel Cooperation" can be found here.

The G7 Urban7 (U7) advocates for a continuous dialogue between the G7 nations and municipal actors since 2022. The U7 is an initiative by national associations and international city networks in the G7 countries. The U7 Group is chaired by the U7 Secretariat consisting of ICLEI and the Global Parliament of Mayors as well as the city association from the country holding the presidency of the G7 that year. In 2024, the G7 Presidency is held by Italy and U7 thus the Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani (ANCI) is fulfilling that role in the U7 Group.