Istanbul, 15 May 2023 – The Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) Facility, a joint initiative of the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), announced the launch of the Green and Just Transition course as part of the Urban Learning Center (ULC). The course introduces the key concepts, solutions and planning processes essential for a Green & Just Transition and what this means for cities or towns, in terms of their practice, planning and projects. The modules in this course connect with several Pathways for Economic Growth (P4EG) steps outlined in the P4EG Course of the Urban Learning Center, namely, Local Economic Situation Assessment, Strategy Making, Action Planning and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL). 

“Today, urban areas accounted for 70 percent of global CO2 emissions,” recalled Thibault Charlet, Programme Manager for Digital and Local Economic Development at the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) of the European Commission. “It is crucial for any municipality that aims to be future-ready to understand the essential concepts, solutions, and planning processes for a green transition and implement these in their local planning. In addition, it can help mobilise more public-private financing from the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership region.”

“Alongside the shift to green practices, it’s vital for city leaders to grasp the needs and complexities of the ‘just’ aspect and its social implications,” commented Tina Stoum, Regional Programme Chief, UNDP. “A Just transition prioritizes equity, justice, sustainable development, and resilience, recognizing the varied needs of communities and underlining the importance of creating alternative and green employment opportunities.”

The self-paced online course is available on the ULC SparkBlue Platform (after log-in) and provides video summaries and bite-sized content such as interactive quizzes and activities to help users apply new learnings to their own context

The Urban Learning Center is designed as a Learning Ecosystem that interconnects community members at the national and regional levels, organized around the practitioner member as both a learner and contributor. Access to ULC is free and available through the SparkBlue online community engagement platform (sign-up is required for new participants). The ULC was developed as part of the Mayors for Economic Growth Facility funded by the European Union. 

Background

The M4EG Facility draws on the Mayors for Economic Growth Initiative, launched and funded by the European Union (EU) in 2017. Since 2021, the EU-funded M4EG Facility has been managed by UNDP in close cooperation with the EU, local authorities and a range of partners.

Media enquiries

For the European Commission/DG NEAR:

Mr. Thibault Charlet, Programme Manager for Digital and Local Economic Development, DG NEAR Unit C1, thibault.charlet@ec.europa.eu

For UNDP:

Mrs. Laurence Lessire, Regional Communications Specialist, laurence.lessire@undp.org

Ms. Svetla Baeva, Communications Lead, Innovation Team Istanbul Regional Hub, svetla.baeva@undp.org

Mr. Anton Sydorenko, M4EG Facility Communications Lead, anton.sydorenko@undp.org