In cities across the United States and around the world, a movement is growing for integrated climate approaches—those that bring considerations for nature, equity, circularity, resilience and more into the planning process alongside emissions reduction. The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer one framework for ensuring integrated approaches that inform SDG 13 on climate action. Since New York City released the world’s first Voluntary Local Review of the SDGs, in 2018, dozens of cities have signed the NYC Declaration and begun issuing their city-level contribution to the Global Goals. Join ICLEI in partnership with the Connected Cities Lab at University of Melbourne during U.S. Climate Week for a discussion on the SDG Cities Challenge, a city-to-city cohort learn-do model that is scaling volunteer local review adoption through international city-to-city collaboration. We will be joined by representatives of leading U.S. cities Pittsburgh and Orlando, alongside a cadre of Texas communities represented by University of Texas at Arlington.

You will learn how these cities are putting the VLRs to work advancing climate action through sustainability data, cross-departmental collaboration, community involvement and finance.