City Diplomacy Lab

How can cities break the cycle of car dependency and build mobility systems that truly serve people, climate, and equity? 🚲🌍

On February 26, we’re bringing together city practitioners, UN experts, and urban policy leaders to explore how digitalization and data-driven approaches can accelerate low-carbon transport across cities, with insights from pilots in Latin America.

📅 26 February 2026
⏰ 4:00–5:30 p.m. CET
💻 Online | Zoom webinar
🤝 Co-organized with UN Environment Programme
🔗 Register here: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/driving-change-in-urban-mobility/

This session is part of the “Our Urban Future” series, dedicated to strengthening the role of cities in advancing global climate objectives through concrete, locally driven solutions.

Local, national, and international leaders and experts gathered on December 1 for “Delivering Local Climate Action — Insights from COP30,” a hybrid roundtable organized by the UN Environment Programme and the City Diplomacy Lab in Paris.

The central challenge: Cities and regions achieved unprecedented recognition at COP30 Brasil—but how do we translate this momentum into concrete implementation on the ground?

KEY TAKEAWAYS
→ Multilevel governance isn't optional—it's the only viable pathway. Cities account for 70% of emissions and are often delivering climate action faster than national governments.
→ Climate finance must reach those who deliver. Bankable projects exist from Douala to Yokohama, but most financing mechanisms remain misaligned with local needs. As one speaker noted: "Climate funding is not charity—it is collective action."
→ Innovation happens through pragmatic ambition. Oslo's 94.6% electric vehicle adoption, Strasbourg's 43% emissions reduction, Bordeaux's 160,000 trees planted and climate budgeting approach, and Maharashtra's state-wide climate action cells show what's possible when political commitment meets implementation capacity.
→ Traditional cycles are too slow. ICLEI's "subnational COPs" in 50+ cities across six continents demonstrate how to maintain momentum between formal COP processes.
→ Context matters. There's no one-size-fits-all solution—but all cities share the need for political leadership, adequate resources, and genuine multilevel partnerships.

This roundtable launches a six-part series exploring how to accelerate locally grounded climate action through inclusive governance, accessible financing, and partnerships connecting global objectives with municipal realities.

Our deepest thanks to all contributors (in alphabetical order): Yunus Arikan (ICLEI), Bernhard Barth (UN-HABITAT), Helene Chartier (C40 Cities), Takaaki Ito (City of Yokohama), Anne-Marie Jean (Strasbourg.eu), Kadri Jushkin (Estonian Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture), Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi (City Diplomacy Lab), Delphine Le Duff (AFD - Agence Française de Développement), Hongpeng Lei (UNEP), Edouard Hervé Moby Mpah (Mairie de Douala 4), Céline Papin (Ville de Bordeaux), Sture Portvik (Bymiljøetaten i Oslo kommune), Gulnara Roll (UNEP), and Sameer Unhale (Government of Maharashtra).

📄 Full summary: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/insights-from-cop30/
🎥 Recording: https://youtu.be/Eg6nGNhJciM

How can cities turn COP30 ambitions into real progress? 🌿

On December 1, we’re gathering city leaders, UN experts, diplomats, and scholars in Paris to discuss what the post-COP30 landscape means for local and regional governments, and how ambition can translate into real climate delivery.

📅 1 December 2025
⏰ 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. CET
📍 UNEP Paris Office + online
🤝 Co-organized with UN Environment Programme
🔗 Register here: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/insights-from-cop30/

This session opens our new “Our Urban Future” series, dedicated to enhancing the role of local authorities in global climate action.

🌍 Building Bridges at the Euro-Africa Biennale 2025 🌍

The City Diplomacy Lab is proud to join forces once again with the City and Metropolis of Montpellier, valued members of our Advisory Board, for their Euro-Africa Biennale 2025.

📅 October 6–7 — Our researchers Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi and Yassine Turki will act as rapporteurs of the Biennale Congress, where leaders from cities, networks, institutions, academia, business, and civil society will gather. Together, they will explore solutions to shared challenges — from climate resilience and sustainable development to mobility and inclusive governance — themes that stand at the heart of the Lab’s mission.

📅 October 8 — Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi will facilitate the Diaspora Assembly, dedicated to co-drafting the Montpellier Charter. By placing diasporas at the center, the Assembly seeks to rethink Euro-African cooperation — making it more connected, more meaningful, and more impactful for the communities it serves.

🔗 Learn more about the Euro-Africa Biennale 2025: https://www.euro-africa.montpellier.fr/en/biennale

Ville de Montpellier, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, Montpellier On The Map, AFD - Agence Française de Développement, AIMF - Association Internationale des Maires Francophones, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier, MedVallée - Montpellier, Africa Montpellier, Tropisme.

🏛️ This September, the City Diplomacy Lab hosted landmark meetings at the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the French Senate, advancing concrete lines of action and issuing strong calls to ensure that the value of city diplomacy—both locally and globally—continues to grow amid today’s turbulent political landscape.

📌 Key shared priorities and challenges identified:
– Cities as stabilizing actors amid geopolitical uncertainty
– Multilevel governance: strengthening the State–City dialogue while preserving local autonomy
– Protecting democratic values and defending human rights at the local level against pressures from authoritarian regimes
– Managing city diplomacy risks: mitigating threats such as unauthorized acquisition of technology and know-how, political interference, disinformation campaigns, and the spillover of international conflicts into local communities
– Safeguarding and expanding cross-border city-to-city collaboration: fostering knowledge exchange, solidarity, and transparent, accountable, and resilient partnerships.

📄 Read the full event reports:
🇮🇹 Italian Chamber of Deputies: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/city-diplomacy-italy/
🇫🇷 French Senate: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/city-diplomacy-france/

💡 Discover the City Diplomacy Lab’s policy brief on “City Diplomacy Risk”: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/city-diplomacy-risk/

🙏 Our thanks go to our hosts, Hon. Lia Quartapelle at the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Senator Gilbert-Luc Devinaz, at the French Senate, to our inspiring speakers Senator Ronan Dantec (Loire-Atlantique), Alessandro Ghinelli (Comune di Arezzo), Antonfrancesco Vivarelli Colonna (Comune di Grosseto), Anna Lisa Boni (Comune di Bologna), Céline Papin (Bordeaux Métropole), Clare Hart (Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole), Benoit Pilet (Ville d'Angers), Paola Deda (UNECE), Frédéric Cholé (France Diplomatie), Mathieu Mori (Council of Europe), Claudia Luciani (Council of Europe), Nina Hachigian (Alliance for Local Leaders International), Cecilia Emma Sottilotta (Università per Stranieri di Perugia), and Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi (City Diplomacy Lab), and to our partners—Anci, Cités Unies France, France Urbaine, Eurocities, AICCRE, Afccre, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), PLATFORMA, AIMF - Association Internationale des Maires Francophones, and the Global Parliament of Mayors—for their invaluable support and collaboration.

🪡 Can cities lead the transformation towards sustainable and circular fashion?

The City Diplomacy Lab launches this initiative in partnership with the Columbia Global Centers l Paris, the UN Environment Programme, the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, the Institut Français de la Mode, and Paris Good Fashion.

📅 Friday, 3 October 2025 – 5:00 p.m.
📍 Reid Hall, 4 rue de Chevreuse (Paris 6e)
🎟️ Register here: https://cities-sustainable-fashion.eventbrite.fr

This international conference will explore how cities can drive the fashion industry’s transition towards sustainability and circularity — from creation and production to consumption and recycling.

✨ The event will also feature a photo exhibition showcasing the winners of the Paris Good Fashion & Eyes on Talents 2025 Grand Prix – Photography & Sustainability.

📍 Aujourd’hui, au Palais du Luxembourg, siège du Sénat français, le City Diplomacy Lab lance son cycle de rencontres consacré au rôle stratégique des villes dans les relations internationales.

Accueilli par Gilbert-Luc Devinaz, Sénateur du Nouveau Rhône et de la Métropole de Lyon, l’événement réunit parlementaires, élus locaux, diplomates et chercheurs pour échanger sur les enjeux actuels de la diplomatie des villes.

🤝 En partenariat avec : Cités Unies France, France Urbaine, l'Afccre, le Conseil des Communes et Régions d’Europe (CCRE), PLATFORMA, l'AIMF - Association Internationale des Maires Francophones, Eurocities et le Global Parliament of Mayors.

👉 Découvrez le contexte et le programme complet : https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/french-senate/

📅 Prochaines étapes du cycle :
- 15 septembre : Chambre des députés, Rome 🇮🇹
- 15 octobre : Parlement européen, Bruxelles 🇪🇺

🇮🇹 SAVE THE DATE: DA ROMA AL MONDO – LA VISIONE STRATEGICA DELL’ITALIA PER LA DIPLOMAZIA DELLE CITTÀ

Il prossimo 15 settembre la Camera dei deputati ospiterà un summit dedicato all’evoluzione del ruolo delle città nelle relazioni internazionali.

🎯 Organizzato dal City Diplomacy Lab, questo evento istituzionale darà il via a un dibattito nazionale, europeo e globale sul rafforzamento della capacità delle città di affrontare sfide geopolitiche senza precedenti attraverso una cooperazione multilivello strutturata.

🎙️ INTERVERRANNO:
Il Ministro degli Affari Esteri Antonio Tajani*, l’On. Lia Quartapelle, le esperte internazionali Nina Hachigian e Paola Deda, i sindaci Gaetano Manfredi* (Napoli), Stefano Lo Russo (Torino), Alessandro Ghinelli (Arezzo), Anna Lisa Boni (Bologna), Silvia Salis* (Genova) e i ricercatori del City Diplomacy Lab Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi e Cecilia Emma Sottilotta.

📍 Camera dei deputati, Palazzo San Macuto, Roma
🗓️ 15 settembre 2025 | Ore 10:00
🔗 Programma e registrazione: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/italian-parliament/

*In attesa di conferma

Today, cities stand at the forefront of global challenges, such as climate change, migration, and increasing geopolitical tensions. How can city diplomats assist in addressing these issues?

To explore this question, the City Diplomacy Lab and Eurocities are co-hosting a webinar with experts and practitioners involved in cities’ international actions. The discussions will center on practical examples of how cities can proactively address emerging crises through international offices, cross-border alliances, and innovative diplomatic strategies.

🗓️ Thursday, April 24
🕙 10:00 a.m. CEST
🔗 Register here: https://www.citydiplomacylab.net/city-diplomacy-in-times-of-multiple-crises/

𝙋𝙀𝙀𝙍 𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙂 | 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜

How can we enhance access to affordable housing and ensure that housing finance is available to everyone?

Join us for a peer-learning webinar exploring some of the most successful practices in providing access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing in Global South cities.

🗣 Panelists:
* Illana Melzer, Engagement Manager, 71point4
* Kecia Rust, Executive Director, Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa
* Joy Wachira, Programme Lead Green Affordable Housing, REALL
* Girlie Lopez, Philippines Country Programme Manager, Build Change
* Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi, City Diplomacy Lab Director (Chair).

In partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Cities Alliance, UN-HABITAT, ICLEI, Slum Dwellers International - SDI., the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa, and the African Union for Housing Finance - AUHF.

🗓 Thursday, November 28, 2024, 10:00 a.m. CET
💻 Register here: https://capacity4dev.europa.eu/events/global-peer-learning-session-how-provide-finance-unbankable_en