ESCT 2020 – 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns
Supporting cities, towns and local governments in implementing the EU climate policy in a manner to ensure a socially acceptable and economically viable move of society towards net-zero emissions.
Energy Transition and Climate-Neutral Buildings Municipalities
Project info
Germany
08/20 - 12/20
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162,839.00 €
Contact info
Agnes Schönfelder
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- ICLEI European Secretariat GmbH
Background
Nearly 80 percent of people residing in the European Union live in cities. It is therefore essential for local leaders, civil society actors, politicians and businesses to do their part in implementing the global climate goals locally. These are the very people that were brought together at the “Mannheim 2020” conference.
The ESCT conferences act as an interface between the European Union, relevant international institutions as well as national and local sustainability movements and plays a key role in defining what a climate-neutral, sustainable city should be like and what measures have to be taken to achieve this goal.
ESCT is the largest conference on sustainable development in Europe. Its mission is to foster the exchange of experiences and knowledge among cities and to gather information on local climate activities. It thus offers an opportunity to provide important stimuli for sustainable urban development to achieve climate neutrality.
Project
The 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns took place from 30 September to 2 October 2020. The conference was jointly organised by the largest network of sustainable cities and towns, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and the city of Mannheim. Due to the corona pandemic a virtual conference had to be held which included live contributions by the host city. In the course of the three-day conference well over 1,500 people came together to witness the contributions made by more than 150 speakers. During the conference the “Mannheim Message” – a call for local governments to be fully integrated as partners into policy-making – was delivered to the European Commission.
Last update: April 2024