The ICLEI World Congress, which took place in São Paulo, Brazil, last month, demonstrated the collective power of cities and regions to address sustainability. With over 1 500 urban leaders from 96 countries participating in critical issues on climate action and urban resilience, this also set the stage for significant city and region input at COP30 in Belém, Brazil in 2025.

ICLEI Oceania, while having a small delegation of five Members – three councilors from Australia and two elected officials and leaders from Fiji and French Polynesia – was seen and heard at the World Congress. Their voices and contributions were instrumental in representations made by delegates on flooding, built environment and housing, water scarcity, coastal land management, urban food policy and the importance of multilevel partnerships.

Councilor William Chan from the City of Sydney, and Rexcom Member and Gexcom Representative, spoke on day one of the Congress, highlighting the importance of sustainable urban development, not just for Australia, but globally.

This advocacy, and the presence of senior officers from Oceania at the Congress, ensured that the Oceania context was, and will continue to be, well reflected in priorities across ICLEI’s global network. For Luigi Zarro, Senior Professional Officer at ICLEI Oceania: “Representing Oceania at such a significant event was an invaluable opportunity to connect with leaders from our network across all five development pathways. Engaging with global case studies in alignment with our core strategy will strengthen our liaison with Members and partners across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.”

ICLEI launched the Sao Paulo Strategic Commitment at the World Congress, renewing its commitment to strengthening sustainable urban development and its foundational five pathways. For the Oceania region, building our services off of this strong foundation is underway, with initiatives in resilient, circular and nature-based development in planning for new and current Members.

ICLEI Oceania welcomes the opportunity to share more case studies on successful climate and sustainability engagement from its global network of 2 500 cities and regions. For more on this, contact us at oceania@iclei.org.