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City of Bonn

Exchange on climate issues with the twin city of La Paz

In the week from November 13 to 17, 2023, a delegation from the Bolivian twin city of La Paz will be visiting Bonn. The focus of the visit will be an exchange on climate issues.

Deputy Mayor Dr. Ursula Sautter received the three-person delegation, led by La Paz's Environment Secretary José Eduardo Galindo, in the Old Town Hall.

The two twin cities are linked by a climate partnership that was established in 2012. The aim of this climate partnership is to intensify the exchange of expertise on climate issues and implement joint projects. Between 2016 and 2019, a cooperation project on recycling, renewable energies and environmental education was carried out in La Paz with technical support from Bonn. Due to the pandemic and political changes, it has not been possible to visit in person in recent years. Instead, it was mainly virtual exchanges that took place. Now, for the first time since 2017, a delegation is back in Bonn as part of the climate partnership.

Deputy Mayor Dr. Ursula Sautter welcomed the three-member delegation, led by La Paz's Environment Secretary José Eduardo Galindo, to the Old Town Hall on Tuesday, 14 November 2023. The guests also visited Bonn's municipal utilities to find out about the municipal company's climate activities and to discuss climate adaptation in Bonn. There is great interest in Bonn's climate plan, as a similar process is underway in La Paz. The program also includes a tour of the thermal waste recycling plant and a visit to the world secretariat of the ICLEI network of cities, of which both cities are members. Together with actors from civil society and politics, they will also work out what future cooperation could look like.

Bonn and La Paz have been partners since 1996. In 2002, the Mayors of Bonn and La Paz signed an official partnership agreement. The project partnership focuses on municipal approaches to sustainability issues such as energy supply, integrated waste management and environmental education. The partnership is supported in a variety of ways through civic engagement. The Bonn-La Paz partnership association has introduced citizens to the country and the people of Bolivia through numerous activities.

The current visit is taking place as part of the  "Municipal Climate Partnerships" (opens in a new tab) program of Engagement Global's Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) and is made possible by funding from SKEW.