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Nairobi – UN-Habitat and ICLEI teamed up in 2012 to support eight cities develop urban low emission development strategies. They have now taken the project into a second phase, in which they are supporting more than 60 cities.

According to a UN-Habitat press release, cities will have to fundamentally transform how they plan, deliver and maintain urban infrastructures and services, such as transport, energy, water, waste and urban, if they are to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

To help them with these efforts, UN-Habitat and Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) have launched a second phase of their flagship project “Accelerating climate action through the promotion of Urban Low Emission Development Strategies” or “Urban-LEDS II” for short. It is a continuation of their earlier Urban-LEDS I project, which saw them support eight model cities in Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa to develop urban low emission development strategies (Urban LEDS) and action plans.

The Urban-LEDS II project has now been expanded to address integrated low emission development in more than 60 cities and 8 countries: the 4 countries from phase I, plus Bangladesh, Colombia, Lao PDR and Rwanda. In addition, 16 European cities are involved to support peer-to-peer exchange and cooperation. While the core objective remains contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by developing Urban LEDS, phase II also has a strengthened focus on adaptation and climate resilience, as well as access to finance and multi-level governance.

According to UN-Habitat, the project is already a success. For example, over 250 local government officials have been trained on various climate change planning topics, and a recent European study tour between participating cities had positive outcomes.