2021 – Rome-Milan

U20 in 2021

The fourth Urban 20 Summit was hosted virtually by Rome and Milan on September 3rd 2021, under the leadership of the 2021 U20 Co-Chairs, Virginia Raggi, Mayor of Rome, and Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan. Building on the legacy of the previous Urban 20 Summits, 15 mayors and 17 senior representatives of G20 cities gathered to call on G20 leaders to work together to achieve a green and just recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening local public service provision, accelerating climate action and fostering social inclusion and prosperity within communities.

The main output of the U20 2021 cycle is the 2021 U20 Communiqué, which was released on 17 June 2021 and presented during the Summit to the Italian G20 Presidency’s representative. During the Summit the Co-Chairs were able to announce that besides the 28 cities that had already endorsed the Communiqué upon its release in June, another 13 endorsed it bringing the total to 41 mayors. Specifically:

This meant the calls and content of the Communiqué are supported by city leaders from all corners of the world.

The 2021 Urban 20 cycle saw a closer collaboration with the G20, specifically the Climate and Energy, and Culture Ministerial Tracks, resulting in among others, the specific mention of cities in the Climate and Energy Ministerial Communiqué. This shows that cities and city leaders are increasingly recognized as important stakeholders and partners of the national
governments in the context of finding solutions to global systemic emergencies such as the climate emergency and the equity crisis.