The G7 Hiroshima Summit was held from 19-21 May 2023. Key global issues discussed including Russia-Ukraine War, economic resilience and climate change.In their Final Communiqué, the G7 Leaders emphasised “the transformative power of cities worldwide as drivers for every aspect of sustainable development” and committed “to continue working with cities on sustainable urban development in order to support exchanges with our global partners, whose cities face some of the most significant challenges relating to climate change”.
The G7 Leaders also recognised “the vital role of sub-national governments in collaboration with other stakeholders and partners to advance climate and energy actions based on local needs and environmental conditions.”

These commitments build on the recognition of the importance of direct cooperation with cities at the 2022 summit in Germany. Futhermore, the G7 Leaders tasked “the relevant ministers to develop a joint understanding on urban development policies and to determine joint initiatives to unlock the full potentials of cities to promote social, cultural, technological, climate-neutral, economic and democratic innobation for the common good”.

Since Japan assumed the G7 Presidency in 2023, the G7 has deepened its engagement with cities.
On 15-16 April, the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo, Japan, concluded with the announcement of the first-ever G7 Roundtable on Subnational Climate Actions, in collaboration with with Urban7 (U7) – the voice of local governments in the G7 process. This Roundtable is a clear progress towards the implementation of the commitments made by the G7 Leaders in Germany in 2022. Cities will also play a key role at the G7 Urban Ministerial Meeting for the second year in a row. The Urban7 is helping to shape G7 processes through participating in the preparatory meetings, and U7 representatives are invited to the Ministerial Meeting, which is scheduled to be held on 7-8 July.

In March 2023, Mayor Kizo Hisamoto (Kobe City), Chair of the Japan Designated City Mayors’ Associataion (JDCMA), and the mayors of the 2023 U7 group come together in Tokyo for the Urban7 Mayors Summit in Tokyo and handed over the 2023 U7 Mayors Declaration to the relevant ministries.

With regards to biodiversity, the G7  has expresed its willingness to lead global efforts in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and commited “to supporting and advancing a transition to nature positive economies, including through sharing knowledge and creating information networks among the G7 such as the G7 Alliance on Nature Positive Economy.”
Furthermore, with regard to resource efficiency and circularity economy, the G7 endorsed the Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Principles (CEREP), a common guidelines proposed by Japan and adopted at the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment.

These are the main points on climate change and the environment addressed in the G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué.

Message from Mayor Peter Kurz (Mannheim, Germany), Chair of the Global Parliament of Mayors

“For the past three years, the Urban7 has been working to make the voice of cities heard in the G7 process. I am pleased that, for the second year in a row, the G7 Presidency has recognised the decisive role that cities play in addressing global challenges. Local governments will be critical partners for G7 members in these efforts. The Urban7 will continue to build this partnership by working closely with Japanese ministries to ensure that local government is involved in relevant G7 ministerial meetings.”

Message from Mayor Frank Cownie (Des Moines,USA), ICLEI President

“The G7 Leaders Summit has shown its commitment to the shared prosperity of our global community. I commend these leaders while reflecting also on the United States Government’s first Cities Summit of the Americas last month. These events demonstrate that coordinated, multilevel, local-to-national action is the only effective approach for tackling challenges as large as global health, energy security, fair and open democracies, and climate change. Through the Urban7 engagement group, ICLEI and our partners will work to advance the shared outcomes from the G7 Leaders Summit.”

Related websites:

• G7 Leaders recognise the transformative power of cities as drivers of sustainable development
• G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023
• Prime Minister’s Office of Japan｜Holding the G7 Hiroshima Summit
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan｜G7 Hiroshima Summit
• G7 Toyama Declaration related to Sustainable Public Transportation