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![Park in Lujiazui financial center, Shanghai, China. Photo credit: Coleman photographer/Shutterstock Park in Lujiazui financial center, Shanghai, China](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/2022-01/shutterstock_1664994619_lujiazui_green_city.jpg?h=6888eef1&itok=7ZSGTVVx)
Building with nature for a better climate
Nature finally got its rightful place within climate negotiations at COP26 in November. It was the first time – despite the well-established links between the climate and biodiversity crises – that we saw so much emphasis at an international summit on the positive role that nature can play in…
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![Residents of Freetown, Sierra Leone, show off tree planters. Photo credit: Freetown City Council Residents of Freetown, Sierra Leone, show off tree planters](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/Freetown_City_Council_trees.jpg?h=8abcec71&itok=mbJ9fTkq)
#FreetownTheTreeTown campaign: Using digital tools to encourage tree cultivation in cities
Freetown, located at the seaward tip of a heavily forested, mountainous peninsula, is the capital of Sierra Leone, dominating its urban, economic, and social landscape. Each year, more than 100,000 people in search of employment move to the city, and the urban fringes continue to push deeper into…
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![Dense cityscape of Hong Kong highrise buildings. Photo credit: ESB Professional/Shutterstock Dense cityscape of Hong Kong highrise buildings](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/shutterstock_245037463_hong_kong_cityscape.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=of4rkyxU)
How COVID-19 can steer city leadership on sustainability
Cities are at the heart of the pandemic impact and response, and city leaders managing through the COVID-19 crisis have demonstrated commitment to integration, innovation, and partnership. GEF Cities Lead Aloke Barnwal makes the case that this approach will be critical to the future sustainability…
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![A row of bicycles from EcoBici in the Reforma Avenue in Mexico City. Photo credit: erlucho/Shutterstock A row of bicycles from EcoBici in the Reforma Avenue in Mexico City](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/shutterstock_622819508_mexico_bicycle.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=m-IKEJ4x)
The bicycle can propel us towards a more sustainable future post-pandemic
During the coronavirus pandemic, the bicycle is an unmatched rival to permit a more hygienic way to move around, contribute to a sustainable recovery of the economy, and support the transformation of urban transport towards decarbonization.
It is necessary to continue reclaiming the streets and…
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![Photo: Shutterstock/MyCreative shutterstock_hong_kong_solar_panels.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/shutterstock_hong_kong_solar_panels.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=A71AGgHa)
Cities can be innovation hubs for climate and nature
Instead of being seen as pressure points for the environment, cities could be planned as innovation hubs
National governments must lead the move towards inclusive and sustainable cities, through initiatives such as carbon pricing and tax policies
We are in the age of urbanization. For the first…
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![Cities are already taking action. More than 50 cities across the globe are now working together, through the EAT C40 Food Systems Network, to create healthier and more sustainable urban food systems. Photo: saiko3p/Shutterstock. Oslo harbor at the Aker Brygge neighbourhood in Oslo](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/shutterstock_telegraph_oslo.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=PLzf0Eo1)
Can cities change the world through what they eat?
Shifting to healthier and more sustainable diets will benefit people and the planet – and build prosperity
Three years ago, our city of Oslo was the first to introduce a “climate budget”. The city government budgets its emissions like it budgets its money. Long-term political promises become…
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![Analysis shows that, for every dollar spent on food, society pays two in health, environmental and economic costs: $5.7 trillion (£4.33 trillion) of this huge annual economic burden is due to how food is produced and how its by-products are managed. Photo: Fotokostic/Shutterstock. Tractor spraying pesticides on vegetable field with sprayer at spring. Photo: Fotokostic/Shutterstock.](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/shutterstock_pesticides_tractor_farm.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=ADS_lvBv)
Fixing the food system: how cities can truly feed the world
Urban areas can change the broken food system that causes ill-health and environmental degradation
Over half of the world’s 7.7 billion people live in towns and cities. By 2050, more than two thirds of them will do so. Materials, waste, emissions, knowledge and influence follow this population…
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![The Impact Programs on Food Systems, Land Use, and Restoration; Sustainable Cities; and Sustainable Forest Management collectively address key drivers of environmental degradation and offer the potential for the GEF to contribute to systemic change. Photo: Oliver S./Shutterstock. The Impact Programs on Food Systems, Land Use, and Restoration; Sustainable Cities; and Sustainable Forest Management collectively address key drivers of environmental degradation and offer the potential for the GEF to contribute to systemic change. Photo: Oliver S./Shutterstock.](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/GF_blogIPs_newsimage.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=WbpBMLnT)
Supporting innovation for transformation: GEF’s new Impact Programs to tackle the drivers of environmental degradation in an integrated way
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) faces a demanding yet seemingly attainable task: to help countries foster a transformation in how individuals, communities, and businesses use and protect the natural word. But nothing less will suffice if we are to meet pressing environmental…
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![Putting the world’s cities onto a fundamentally more sustainable and equitable path will require collaboration between all levels of government, communities, businesses and civil society. GEF is now set to deliver a major boost to these partnerships around the world. Photo: Shutterstock. Bogota, Colombia from a distance. Photo: Shutterstock](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/Bogota_870.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=bD2Wl6hM)
The GEF is becoming a leading champion for sustainable cities, and that matters
This autumn, the IPCC will publish its much-awaited special report on global warming of 1.5 degrees centigrade. For the first time, the world will have a clear scientific view of the rate and scale of emissions reduction is required if we are to avoid runaway climate change. It is expected to set…
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![Bikesharing has changed Chinese urban residents’ mobility habits – people take 55 percent fewer trips by cars, and illegal motorcycles that used to provide ‘last-mile’ transportation solutions have been reduced by 53 percent. Every shared bike is a valuable data source that can help us to better understand urban residents’ behavior and to plot a zero-carbon path for not only Chinese cities, but cities around the world as they begin to adopt this technology. Photo: tangxn/Shutterstock. Mobike dockless bikeshare bicycle near bike path in China. Photo: tangxn/Shutterstock.](/sites/default/files/styles/listing_image_290x218/public/Mobike_blog2_870_0.jpg?h=e85f6c07&itok=iya0fMem)
Bike-sharing data and cities: lessons from China's experience
Digital technologies have spread rapidly in much of the developing world. However, the development and environmental benefits from using digital technologies are yet to be fully captured. The GEF launched the Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot in 2015. A key characteristic of the…