Recommendations for strengthening disaster resilience

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has supported the recommendation by the CSIRO that all jurisdictions should work with local government to improve climate and disaster resilience. This specific recommendation is one of 25 in the CSIRO’s Climate and Disaster Resilience report. A more integrated and long-term approach to landscape management and hazard reduction was also a priority recommendation from a new report by the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action and the Climate Council.

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City of West Torrens joins Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy

The City of West Torrens is excited about joining the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Program and recently provided us with this article about why this has been an important step for their Council and community.

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IUCN unveils world’s first Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions

On 23 July 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) unveiled a new Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions (NbS). The Global Standard is the first-ever set of benchmarks for NbS and will be applied in practice by local and regional governments through the international CitiesWithNature program.

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ICLEI's Race-to-Zero Dialogues

This "ICLEI's Race to Zero Dialogues" webinar highlights climate neutrality leadership and action experiences from political and technical representatives of ICLEI members in Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia. Webinar outcomes will be presented as inputs to Daring Cities 2020 – the Global Virtual Forum on Urban Leaders Taking on Climate Emergency on 7-28 October as well as Race-To-Zero November Dialogues.

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Concurrent disasters, the new normal? Six months after the Australian bushfires

If managing multiple disasters at a time will be the new normal, how can local governments and their communities simultaneously manage recovery efforts while coping with concurrent disasters? This may be a significant turning point for the reconceptualisation and reintegration of “resilience” into all aspects of local government disaster planning.

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Local council leaders join forces to support local government sustainability action

Five Mayors and Councillors from Australia and New Zealand have been newly elected to ICLEI Oceania’s Regional Executive Committee, an advisory group supporting local governments and sustainable development. Aaron Hawkins - Mayor, Dunedin City Council; Amanda Stone - Councillor, Yarra City Council, Victoria; Ann Ferguson - Mayor, Mount Barker District Council, South Australia; Anna Reynolds - Lord Mayor, City of Hobart, Tasmania; and Nuatali Nelmes - Lord Mayor, City of Newcastle.

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71 Good Practice Cases for Socially Responsible Public Procurement

Written by ICLEI and AEIDL, with the support of Public Procurement Analysis, Dialog Makarna and Social Economy Europe, the report ‘Making Socially Responsible Public Procurement Work: 71 good practice cases’ aims to inspire public buyers around Europe to buy social.

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Sally Moxham joins GCoM Oceania as Manager of Strategy & Partnerships

We are very excited to welcome Sally Moxham, who recently joined ICLEI Oceania as the new Manager of Strategy and Partnership for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM). Sally's role will be to develop a GCoM regional delivery plan involving local government networks and climate action groups, sharing GCoM resources and initiatives, identifying partnership opportunities, and establishing an active Oceania region voice.

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City of Melbourne powers second renewable energy deal (MREP2)

The City of Melbourne is one in a group of prominent Melbourne universities and businesses that has secured a multi-million-dollar deal to power operations from wind energy produced in regional Victoria. The purchasing group seven large energy users includes RMIT University, Deakin University, Cbus, Property, ISPT, Fulton Hogan, Citywide Asphalt and Mondelez International.

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CitiesWithNature Updates - Limited Places Join Pioneer Group of Australian councils

Australian councils are invited to apply for limited places to be in a Pioneer Group to work with ICLEI to tailor a high-value support program for urban greening and biodiversity. The first steps are for pioneers to register on the global CitiesWithNature website and then participate in a needs assessment research project conducted in partnership with Swinburne University.

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City Resilience Webinar: Applying the principles of resilience building and DRR for the unexpected

Last week, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and ICLEI jointly hosted a webinar that focused on lessons learnt during an unexpected crisis such as COVID-19. This webinar focused on the past six months in Australia and the multiple, cascading disasters that have been experienced from fires, floods to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Regional Director, Steve Gawler participated as one of the guest speakers in this webinar.

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Future Earth Australia – Community Science for Sustainability

FEA has launched a new community science for sustainability initiative, which facilitates communities and scientists to co-produce actionable science which addresses a local or regional sustainability priority. Future Earth Australia is accepting applications from community leaders in Australia to join the 2020 cohort.

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