UN-Habitat to Launch Sustainable Cities Initiative during COP27

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), COP27 Presidency of Egypt, and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability agreed to start work on creating a partnership for a sustainable cities initiative, which will be launched during COP27.

This decision came during the Sustainable Cities Initiative Workshop that took place in Cairo, in the presence of Ambassador Ayman Tharwat Amin, Deputy Director of the Department of Climate, Environment and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt, Erfan Ali, UN-Habitat Regional Representative for the Arab states, and Kobie Brand, Deputy Secretary General and Regional Director for Africa, ICLEI.

The workshop included a substantial and significant discussion among various partners and experts from the urban and the climate communities.

In his address,  Amin highlighted the participatory and inclusive approach that the COP27 is adopting in developing initiatives on the way to Sharm El-Sheikh. He further emphasized that cities, their population, and infrastructure are especially vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, which highlights the importance of this initiative and the need for an implementation-focused COP.

On his part, Ali stated: “This year, local climate action is one of UN-Habitat’s priority themes,” adding that COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh will be a great opportunity to highlight and advance the local climate action agenda and strengthen the alignment of climate action with sustainable urban development.