Publications & tools

Search Result ( 1 - 9 from 48 )

Local Governments still left out of national Social Climate Plans

With the deadline near, Local Governments still left out of national Social Climate Plans. This Policy Brief is a follow up to the original survey conducted by the Local Alliance, including ICLEI Europe, confirming a lack of engagement of local and regional governments in the design of national plans, despite legal obligations. 
The EU Social Climate Fund (SCF), designed to mitigate the social impacts of the new Emissions Trading System (ETS2) – that extends carbon pricing to additio...
Report
Published: 2025

Fast & Fair Deployment of Renewables & Grids - Voices from Local Governments

Despite the overall positive public sentiment towards renewable energies, local opposition to additional projects continues to be a major cause for delays in deployment. The Fast & Fair Renewables & Grids Initiative provides the first Europe-wide cross-sectoral consensus, with a framework for facilitating renewable energy and grid projects that are perceived as fair for all. Developed in collaboration with stakeholders from civil society, local government, commercial and non-pr...

Practical Implementation Guide: Carbon Offsetting

As urban areas account for up to 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions, local governments play a critical role in climate change mitigation. The new Practical Implementation Guide on Carbon Offsetting, developed in conjunction with the Urban Transition Mission Center (UTMC), which ICLEI is part of, stresses that while aggressive emissions reduction must remain cities’ top priority, high-quality carbon offsetting can serve as a complementary tool to accelerate progress toward net-zero targ...

ICLEI Europe’s Position Paper on the EU’s 2040 Climate Target

In February 2024, the European Commission proposed an EU-wide 90% net emission reduction target by 2040, following the recommendation from the European Scientific Advisory Body on Climate Change (ESABCC) to set a 2040 climate target of 90- 95% emission reductions. While presenting the 2040 target in the European Parliament, Commissioner Hoekstra highlighted the need for a dialogue and an extensive outreach to discuss how to reach this crucial intermediary target of 2040.
We welcome the Commissi...

Principles of Cooling Cities

As Europe faces the growing challenges of climate change, the urgency to address rising urban temperatures is clear. Cities, home to most Europeans, are at the forefront, grappling with the urban heat island effect, extreme heatwaves, and increasing related energy consumption. To create resilient, equitable, and climate-neutral cities, we must adopt a transformative approach. This document builds on the Aalborg Conditions which is the strategic vision put out by ICLEI Europe during the 10th Euro...

Policy Brief: Transforming Europe’s building stock for a fair, affordable, climate-neutral future

This policy brief outlines the major challenges associated with the transformation of European building stock from local governments and authorities’ perspective, in addition to discussing current legislation in place. The brief will then present suggestions to address these challenges and turn the EU building stock from a major roadblock to a driving force for a climate-neutral, fair and sustainable future.

Local Alliance Briefing: Unlocking the Potential of Local and Regional Governments in the Social Climate Fund

This exclusive report from eight major European local and regional government networks including ICLEI reveals that vulnerable households in the EU are at risk of being underserved by the €86 billion Social Climate Fund (SCF) due to inadequate consultation of local and regional governments by national governments.

Case Study Guides on Shared Actions for the Green Deal

Collecting experience from 24 local actions across Europe to highlight how communities can help advance European Green Deal objectives, this guide presents concrete ideas on different topics of the European Green Deal.
Handbook / Guide
Published: 2024

KeepCool: Strategic and Sustainable Cooling Planning and Advocacy for Local Governments

Europe's climate is changing at a disturbing rate. Data from the World Meteorological Organization1 reveals the continent is warming twice as fast as the global average. This significant increase highlights the urgency of addressing climate change and implementing effective mitigation strategies.
The European Green Deal and the ambitious "Fit for 55" package highlight a crucial fact: decarbonizing the way we cool and heat our buildings is essential for a successful energy transition. Unless we ...