At the ICLEI World Congress in Montreal, the Network Council announced a new strategic vision to address the development challenges of the current urban era. This vision, outlined in ICLEI Montreal Commitment, It broadens the ambition for sustainable development and charts a path towards systemic urban change.

The commitment also formally replaces the 10 urban agendas that guided the Network's work and actions, and presents strategic pathways for sustainable development: a dynamic approach that positions local and regional governments to implement systemic changes in their communities.

These interconnected pathways, which will guide ICLEI's organizational strategy through 2024, include:

• Low-emission development
• Nature-based development
• Circular development
• Resilient development
• Equitable and people-centered development

The regional offices and secretariats, from Japan to Brazil, are already working directly with local and regional governments to advance along these paths. As of June 2018, more than 130 concrete initiatives and actions are listed in... ICLEI Montreal Action Plan, also presented at the World Congress.

“Municipal and regional leaders across the ICLEI Network are expanding their ambition and taking action globally,” emphasized Ashok Sridharan, mayor of the German city of Bonn and newly elected president of ICLEI. “We gathered at the World Congress in Montreal to reinvigorate collective action and remain at the forefront of change in the urban context.”

With accelerated urbanization, nations and global actors are recognizing the importance of cities in addressing global climate and sustainability challenges. Urban areas are responsible for... 70 percent of global energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions.. Meanwhile, urban sprawl is accelerating changes in land use and the loss of global biodiversity, which is occurring at unprecedented rates. This makes work at the local level, such as that promoted by ICLEI, crucial to achieving global goals.

“Urban transformation around the world will alter the trajectory of global development,” said Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI. “The Montreal Commitment and the Strategic Vision The Network's initiatives represent a path and a promise to advance the goals and aspirations set out in the global sustainable development agenda.”

Check out full text of ICLEI Montreal Commitment, a Strategic Vision and the ICLEI Montreal Action Plan, Here.