Mayors of the newly elected ICLEI European Regional Executive Committee (RexCom) came together in Brussels (Belgium) for the first time of their three-year mandate to set out a shared agenda and work plan for the organisation. Priorities of the joint work plan include putting in place action towards achieving climate neutrality and advancing the implementation of the European Green Deal at the local level. The new RexCom is composed of Mayors and leading representatives from Aalborg (Denmark), Antwerp (Belgium), Bethlehem (Palestine), Freiburg (Germany), the Green Metropolitan Region of Arnhem-Nijmegen (the Netherlands), Matosinhos (Portugal), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Utrecht (The Netherlands), Tirana (Albania), Turku (Finland), Växjö (Sweden), Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain), and Wrocław (Poland).

In addition to advancing the development of Local Green Deals and securing net-zero emissions, each RexCom member will represent ICLEI Europe on one or more of twelve topical portfolios – namely: Climate Neutral Cities, Governance Innovation, Sustainable and Innovation Procurement, Circular Economy, Built Environment, Culture and Heritage, Justice, Equity and Democracy, Biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions, Resilience and Climate Adaptation, Sustainable Energy Systems, Green Digital Transformation, Sustainable Mobility, and Sustainable Food Systems.

During their inaugural meeting, the ICLEI Europe RexCom underlined the importance of establishing a sustainable, multi-level governance approach, as well as more innovative structural approaches to financing to ensure the European Union (EU) achieves climate neutrality by 2050. To this avail, RexCom members will be advocating for deeper and binding exchange between local governments and the national and European levels to drive sustainability legislation and regulation in the coming years.

The ICLEI European Secretariat is advancing this mandate, amongst others, through its leading roles in localising the EU Green Deal, in the Urban7 (cities’ response to the G7), and in supporting the Climate Neutral Cities Mission. ICLEI also supports the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) pledge which sees signatory countries commit to enhancing cooperation with subnational governments, especially with respect to national plans to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

As a membership association, ICLEI receives its mandate from its Member local governments and municipal organisations. Not only in terms of project implementation, but also in terms of governing the organisation, ICLEI works closely with its members. On a regional level ICLEI Europe does this through the RexCom, who are representing ICLEI’s Members in Europe. On a global level, ICLEI works with its Global Executive Committee (GexCom) and the Council. RexCom members are elected regularly for a 3 year term by ICLEI members.