About the programme
C40’s Climate Budgeting Programme aims to help cities plan and incorporate climate budgeting within their overall city governance. It connects cities that want to develop, implement, and improve climate budgeting processes that fit their governance structures and contribute to meeting their climate goals.
What is climate budgeting?
Climate budgeting is a governance system that mainstreams climate commitments and considerations into policy, action, and budget decision-making. This means integrating climate goals and targets from the Climate Action Plan (CAP) into the financial budget process. It assigns responsibility for government implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. This approach creates transparency and accountability and highlights where things need to change to stay on track with the city’s climate goals.
Why is climate budgeting important for cities?
Climate budgeting breaks down long-term climate goals into manageable yearly targets, mainstreaming these into daily operations and budgeting, detailing specific actions, costs, responsibilities, and expected emissions reductions within the budget. Its transparency allows for continuous monitoring of climate actions, identifying effective measures and areas needing improvement to stay on track with targets. Additionally, it empowers and holds mayors accountable to lead on climate issues, promotes public awareness, and strengthens cities’ positions in negotiations with national, regional, and other stakeholders, helping them meet growing demands for ambitious climate action.
Programme activities
Every city has its own unique governance and budgetary structures, making them the best judges of how climate budgeting fits into their specific context. C40’s Climate Budgeting team supports this process by:
- Sharing best practices through peer-to-peer city knowledge exchange: City staff participate in regular meetings, workshops, and webinars to discuss challenges and opportunities in climate budgeting with other cities in the programme.
- Conducting research and knowledge development: We identify gaps in knowledge through consultations with cities and develop resources to address these gaps, equipping cities with the tools they need to progress.
- Engaging stakeholders and fostering collaboration: Staff from climate and finance departments participate actively in the Climate Budgeting Programme, promoting cross-organisational capacity building and breaking down silos.
To get in touch with the team, please contact: climatebudgeting@c40.org
Cities participating in the programme:
Barcelona, Berlin, London, Montréal, Mumbai, New York City, Oslo, Stockholm, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Tshwane.
