Cities are key to tackling climate change and require an estimated annual investment of USD 1.1 trillion worldwide for a low-carbon and resilient urban transition. Substantial investments will be required in Asia in particular as the region is experiencing significant population growth and an increase in urbanisation rates in cities vulnerable to climate risks. However, climate change initiatives at the city-level are unable to attract sufficient investments. Hence it is crucial that innovative financing solutions tailored to the financing needs and governance systems of cities be developed to strengthen the response to the urban sustainability challenges at hand.
South Pole will be actively involved by holiding a session on the 16th October from 15:30-17:00 at Setia Spice Convention Centre, Level 1, Function Room 12.
Innovative finance for sustainable cities - empowering Asian cities to access capital (UI 40)
Substantial investments will be required in Asian cities as the region is experiencing significant population and urbanisation increase while being amongst the areas most vulnerable to climate change risks. However, only 15% of global climate finance reaches cities. Reasons include low credit worthiness, limited number of bankable projects, difficulty in accessing existing financing and limited administrative capacity. Therefore, there is a significant need for innovative financing solutions, tailored to the needs and governance of cities, that can help realize efficient response to the urban challenges at hand. This session will discuss a range of promising solutions to catalyse finance for the cities' climate actions, their lessons learned and opportunities to scale up their application across the Asia-Pacific region. These solutions include platforms and support programmes that connect cities and finance experts to help develop bankable projects (City Finance Lab, Matchmaker, CapaCITIES), carbon market mechanisms (Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (Public Organization)) and emerging financing mechanisms such as auctions (The World Bank Group).
To attend the South Pole lead session and to get more information on the event itself, click here.
