The International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) was established in September 1990 after more than 200 local governments from 43 countries convened at the World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future, at the United Nations in New York. It was “conceived in 1989 when 35 local government leaders from Canada and the USA met with a leading atmospheric scientist to discuss the depletion of the ozone layer.” [2]
In 1991, the ICLEI wrote Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 including the mandate for all local authorities to prepare a “local Agenda 21.” The final version was approved at the Earth Summit and stipulated that “by 1996 , most local authorities in each country should have undertaken a consultative process with their population and achieved a consensus on a local Agenda 21 for the(ir) communities.” [3]
In 2003, ICLEI’s rebranded as ‘ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability‘ with a broader mandate to address sustainability issues. [1] The World Secretariat moved to Bonn, Germany, in 2009.
“ICLEI was created to implement Agenda 21 through out the world”…”giving the illusion of local control, but it circumvents requirements for ratification of international treaties” says Rosa Koire in 2012. [3]
Today (2022) ICLEI is a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development.