Green infrastructure is no longer out-of-reach for cities in developing countries thanks to the launch of the C40 Cities Finance Facility, a major project by C40, Germany and Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) to provide the skills, technical assistance and connections to funding opportunities needed to unlock up to $1 billion worth of sustainable infrastructure in cities across low and middle-income countries by 2020. This transformative partnership between C40, Germany and IADB, launched today at the C40 Forum, reinforces the joint commitment to bring practical solutions to unlock the potential of all cities to deliver action on climate change.
Also announced today is funding from the British philanthropy, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, to ensure take up of a new system for transparently measuring and reporting city emissions.
The C40 Cities Finance Facility, with €3.5 million (US$3.7m) funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and $2 million from the IADB, will provide technical assistance to cities within the C40 network to help them prepare sustainable infrastructure projects for investment.
“The C40 Cities Finance Facility represents a massive opportunity for cities, particularly those in the Global South,” said C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. “The project represents a significant step forward in delivering one of my strategic aims as C40 chair, and will allow cities to leverage significant public and private financing for green infrastructure projects, enabling cities to accelerate their ambitious emissions reductions.”
The first round of funding for the C40 Cities Finance Facility was announced at the C40 Forum held today in Paris alongside the COP21 climate negotiations. The initial $5.7 million is expected to ultimately reach as much as $20 million in technical assistance for cities, unlocking up to $1 billion worth of green projects worldwide within four years.
Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ, on the importance of cities to environmental goals, and why the German government sees unlocking finance for cities as a key ingredient.
New resources to measure and report city emissions
C40 also announced at the Forum new funding from the British philanthropy the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), who will provide $5.3 million to help a minimum of 30 C40 cities in the Global South to conduct accurate inventories of their greenhouse gas emissions, set targets and develop action plans. The aim of the investment is to create a critical mass of cities across the world quantifying their urban emissions and setting robust reduction targets using an international gold standard – Global Protocol for Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories (GPC) — and thereby supporting the implementation of the Compact of Mayors.
"To protect and secure a healthy and sustainable future for children, we support the urgent global transition to a low carbon economy," said Graeme Sweeney, a CIFF trustee and chairman of its climate investment committee. " We are supporting the adoption of a new global system for transparently measuring and reporting greenhouse gases emissions, which will allow mayors to identify and seek finance for the most cost-effective opportunities for climate action."
The funding will increase the number of cities in every region of the world that are measuring and reporting their emissions on a consistent basis. This will enable comparison between regions and provide examples for other cities to follow.
Read the press release here.
