In 1994, the City of Aalborg together with ICLEI and a number of other local government networks took up the challenge of spreading the local sustainable development message across Europe in the period following the Rio Earth Summit.

The City of Lisbon hosted the second European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, which attracted over 1,000 participants. Building on the Aalborg Charter presented at the first conference, the Lisbon Action Plan was launched in 1996.

This millennial edition of the conference took place in Hannover, Germany with over 1,300 participants, 250 mayors or their representatives present, and dozens of workshops. Municipalities emphasised their right to assume a central role in the development of a rapidly urbanising Europe.

Ten years after the first European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, the campaign returned to Aalborg. The main outcome of the conference was the Aalborg Commitments, a local government sustainability “toolbox” encompassing 10 shared sustainability pledges.

The City of Seville hosted the fifth conference in the series, where over 1500 delegates from European local governments committed to act immediately and implement advanced policies for local sustainable development, enthusiastically promoting the Aalborg Commitments.

The sixth European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns took place in 2010 in Dunkerque, France. Dunkerque 2010 explored how sustainable development can help local governments to face the current economic, social and climate challenges and how it can be further implemented in the current context of crisis.

In 2013, the City of Geneva hosted the seventh conference in the series, emphasising the opportunities for strengthening local economies and communities through sustainable investments. The conference also saw the launch of the Sustainable Cities online platform.

Under the title ‘Transformative action: the potential for Europe’, the eighth edition of the European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns explored the need for action by local governments to change unsustainable pathways and shape Europe’s future.

The 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns was hosted online by the City of Mannheim. The main outcome of the conference was the Mannheim Message, which calls for local authorities to be key partners in the implementation of the EU Green Deal, through the development of Local Green Deals.