Call for papers: Special Issue on Financing sustainable cities: mobilising capital for equitable, resilient and low-carbon urban futures

The Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy (JCCPE) publishes timely, evidence-based research that contributes to the urban climate agenda and supports governmental policy towards an equitable and resilient world. The Journal serves as a platform for dynamic content that highlights ambitious, near-term climate action, with a particular focus on human-centered solutions to today’s most pressing climate challenges. The Journal aims to equip mayors, policymakers, and urban practitioners with analysis, language, policies, and examples of concrete actions that reinvent and reinvigorate the idea of effective, purposeful government-led action.

As the climate crisis intensifies, the world’s cities are faced with multiple financial challenges: the requirement for capital to finance sustainable development, adaptation to rising temperatures and climate change mitigation, and the urgent need to divest from carbon-intensive infrastructure. How can the widening gap between these demands and financial reality be addressed while ensuring that human wellbeing, equity and planetary boundaries are prioritised? This Special Issue of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy invites contributions that explore approaches to these challenges. 

Scope and Potential Research Questions

The Journal welcomes contributions of any article type specified in JCCPE’s instructions for authors. Submissions might examine:

• The social, political, and ecological impacts of existing mechanisms for financing climate adaptation and mitigation measures, particularly in Majority World Cities
• Financing and derisking mechanisms that are currently underexploited for climate adaptation projects in cities
• Unpacking the meaning of “innovative” in city climate financing mechanisms – what is innovative, how do they work, and what are the implications, and how suitable are they for different contexts? 
• The opportunities and impacts of carbon markets on city finances
• Ways that existing climate finance practices in cities, including instruments, mechanisms and regulatory dynamics can reinforce inequities and how policymakers and practitioners alike can ensure that justice, accountability, and diverse knowledge systems  – or diverse ways of knowing – are taken into consideration
• How city residents and municipal budgets can be protected from the financial costs of climate impacts at a time when risk is rapidly increasing
• Case studies of legislative or policy shifts that have devolved own source revenue raising powers to cities for climate-specific projects
• How cities can access green bonds and how the “green label” has impacted the process and nature of the financing that can be accessed.”
• Approaches to municipal budgeting that ensure finance reaches the populations that are most exposed to environmental hazards
• The economic and social implications for cities that divest their municipal pension funds from fossil fuels
• Approaches to “wellbeing economy” budgeting that moves beyond GDP-centric fiscal planning
• Approaches to municipal budgets that prioritize “throughput” reduction and resource circularity over traditional economic expansion
• Financial mechanisms to support workers and small businesses during the phase-out of carbon-intensive urban industries or practices
• The role that finance plays in affecting transformative adaptation at a city level
• The role of planning in accessing financing for climate investments

This is a unique opportunity to present research to the Journal’s key audience—mayors and city policymakers. We particularly encourage:

• Interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral perspectives
• Submissions that address barriers to finance faced by cities in the Majority World 
• Perspectives that are produced in collaboration with city decision makers or practitioners

Abstracts

1. Abstracts should be submitted as an attachment to Sarah Lewis at slewis@c40.org.
2. Please clarify in your email which manuscript type you would like to submit. If you are unsure which would be most appropriate, please feel free to contact us to discuss.
3. For Original Research articles, please clarify your research question and methodology in your abstract.
4. Abstracts should be no more than 250 words and show how your topic aligns with the aims of the Journal. In particular it should show how your paper will benefit city mayors and decision makers.