Malmö showing the way - is this the momentum for all cities to take the lead?

In his keynote paper the Chair of the ENVE Commission in the Committee of the Regions, Mayor of Malmö City, Mr. Ilmar Reepalu is highlighting the central role of local governments in local action for global change.

At these days, when the intergovernmental processes like COP15 and the Durban negotiations are not supporting strong enough the necessary steps towards sustainable development, the point that Mr. Reepalu makes is more true than ever before. This means that the heavy duty and responsibility of building a sustainable world is left on the shoulders of the smallest public management units, the cities.

When the right things cannot be agreed on global level, we must make them happen on local level. It is the time for cities and regions to act and take the lead towards integrated sustainability management.

In his keynote paper, Mr. Reepalu illustrates what integrated approach can mean in practice. But Malmö is only one out of thousands of European cities where the change can be made. We need to share the good practices, we must build our capacities together to learn new ways of planning and living and we must start the change from our selves to create sustainable European cities for future generations. And we must do it today, starting from the European Climate Champions conference.

Picture: Malmö on Christmas time (©Malmö Stad / Martin Lindeborg)