Urban Diplomacy Exchange: Climate protection at the top of the agenda

With the virtual partnership conference, the Urban Diplomacy Exchange project offered representatives from 18 cities in Germany and 11 cities in the United States a platform for an initial professional exchange in mid-May 2022. 55 German and U.S. municipal representatives learned from practical examples about the approaches their municipalities are taking to meet the pressing challenges of our time. For example, the cities of Cincinnati and Chattanooga reported on how these former industrial cities were able to achieve sustainable transformation.

Increasing urbanization and the resulting pressure on the urban housing market, the drifting apart of population groups into opposing political camps, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the consequences of climate change and extreme weather events were also identified as common challenges for the future professional exchange between the German and U.S. cities.

Especially for the field of climate protection and climate impact adaptation, the desire for an intensive exchange of knowledge on an intermunicipal level became clear. This was underlined by three U.S. and four German mayors who had already participated in the Mayors Roundtable in March 2022. As mayor of the coastal city of Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Dean Trantalis found clear words: "There is no Florida" if sea levels continue to rise as a result of global warming.

In response to the call for project participation, 23 German cities expressed interest in the project. A good half of them were interested in more intensive project support. After evaluating the submitted profiles, four municipal partnerships have been selected for the accompanied expert exchange missions and participation in the Urban Diplomacy Exchange conference from October 18 to 20, 2022 in Washington D.C.:

• Esslingen am Neckar – Shegboygan (WI)
• Hamm and Wolfsburg – Chattanooga (TN)
• Duisburg – Fort Lauderdale (FL)
• Kiel – San Francisco (CA)

In addition, another four partnerships were selected to also have the opportunity to participate in the partnership conference:

• Krefeld – Charlotte (NC)
• Darmstadt – San Antonio (TX)
• Münster – Fresno (CA)
• Düsseldorf – Portland (OR)