ICLEI, the Association of German Cities, and the Global Parliament of Mayors have launched an urban alliance to accompany the German G7 Presidency. The alliance will support the G7 Presidency programme, which has highlighted the importance of harnessing the transformative power of cities. Cities can offer immense contributions to the G7 goal of “progress for a just world” and the five fields of action defined by the Presidency.

This urban alliance continues a so-called “G7 Urban7” (U7) process, which was launched by an advocacy group of large regional cities in the United Kingdom outside Greater London. It is now evolving, as Frank Cownie, Mayor of ICLEI Member Des Moines (USA), and President of ICLEI’s Global Executive Committee explains, “into a more systematic engagement mechanism.”

“The cities that have joined together in the Urban7 Group are ready to actively support the G7 Presidency”, said Peter Kurz, Mayor of ICLEI Member Mannheim (Germany), Chair of the Global Parliament of Mayors, and G7 special envoy of the Association of German Cities. “We will work hard to bring the urban perspective into the work of the Presidency. Cities are a crucial policy level for addressing the challenges of our time. Cities are also the critical policy level for effective implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. In early May 2022, the representatives of the cities of the G7 will gather at an Urban Summit and adopt the declaration of the Urban7 Group.”

ICLEI is proud to be a key part of launching this alliance. Mayor Cownie expressed it well, saying, “For decades, the sustainability and urban communities have long been asking for active leadership of G7 countries for ambitious action, pursuant to their historical responsibility, as well as technical and financial capabilities. ICLEI welcomes the unprecedented acknowledgement of the importance of cities and sustainable urbanisation by the 2022 G7 German Presidency as a game changer to accelerate multilevel action in the age of climate emergency globally.”

The U7 group is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and by the Service Agency Communities in One World. The group will cooperate with all federal ministries working on urban issues, particularly the Federal Ministry for Housing, Ministry for the Environment, and Foreign Office.

For additional insights from Mayors, read the full press release here.