Urban Klima 2050 and the Basque grants for local innovation showcased on the international RegionsWithNature platform

20/12/2022

The public unveiling of the platform took place during the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal.

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, Regions4 - the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development, and the European Committee of the Regions are the driving forces behind the platform.

The mission of this new platform is to share success stories and so they can be replicated with the overall goal of preserving biodiversity.

The LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project and the  grant calls for local innovation of the Basque Government have been selected as outstanding case studies on the international RegionsWithNature platform, a digital initiative set up by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, Regions4 - the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development, and the European Committee of the Regions, in order to share success cases that can be replicated in other places of the planet and thus advance in the preservation of biodiversity.

The public presentation of the RegionsWithNature platform took place during the COP15 Biodiversity summit, held in Montreal (Canada) between 7 and 19 December. Governments from around the world gathered there to agree the targets to steer global action to protect and restore nature up to 2040.

The two Basque experiences have been added to a database of international good practices. Specifically, LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050, the Basque Country's largest climate action project up to 2025, where one of its cornerstones is the transferability and replicability of its actions, has been selected in six out of the fourteen theme areas of the platform: communication, education and citizen awareness, protected areas; skills development, ecosystem restoration, invasive exotic species; and climate change and biodiversity.

In addition to Urban Klima 2050, the grant calls to drive local innovation and improve the mainstreaming of the sustainability agenda have also been selected. Launched by the Basque Government, the calls co-funded 88 projects proposed by local authorities between 2008 and 2020.

About RegionsWithNature

RegionsWithNature is an easily accessible, user-friendly and free online platform to share regional commitment to achieving the global nature goal.

It is a database that gathers goods practices and case studies exclusively dedicated to the regional government experience: it collects success stories with the aim of building knowledge, transforming it into learning, and making them replicable and accessible to other governments with similar challenges.

The case studies, available in French, English and Spanish, provide detailed information on the project's catalyst, the institutional framework that enables it, the key components of the project, their direct and indirect impacts, and  its financial sustainability, along with successes and challenges among other key components.

Access to the database: https://regions4.org/csd/