World cities’ congress on sustainability to be held in Seoul in April

Coined to be the biggest network of cities in the world, the ICLEI World Congress (ICLEI, International Council for International Environmental Initiatives) will be held in Seoul, Korea from April 8 to 12.

During the congress, cities of the world including Paris, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, Budapest, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Edmonton, Melbourne, and Bogota among others will be represented during the gathering of local governments from 6 continents, 87 countries and 147 cities, and approximately 2000 participants (800 international participants) are expected to attend. The theme of this year’s congress is “Sustainable Solutions for an Urban Future” and local heads of governments will be sharing their experiences and knowledge on strategies for lowering carbon gas emissions and collaborative efforts towards such initiatives. Local governments are expected to sign memorandums of understanding with each other, hold technical meetings on environmental policies, and form partnerships with green growth companies throughout the four-day program.

Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute Yvo de Boer, Director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies Klaus Töpfer, President of the Assembly of European Regions Michele Sabban, former Deputy Director General of the World Wildlife Fund Jørgen Randers, and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme Ibrahim Thiaw among other important luminaries and personalities will be tackling the issues of climate change and greenhouse gases towards a common solution applicable on the local level. In the early part of the preparation for the conference, one strategy that the ICLEI Secretariat has unveiled is its non-usage of paper cups during the entirety of the program.

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the official name of the organization, is a network of local governments established in 1990 that has expanded to its current membership of 87 countries and about 1,000 cities up to date. Including Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Jeju, and Suwon among others, 51 Korean cities are part of the organization. The congress to be held in Seoul is the 9th edition of the triennial conference.