Analysis: The demand for financing climate projects in cities

This report, co-authored by the C40 Cities Finance Facility, CDP, and in collaboration with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, is the first-ever in-depth analysis of infrastructure projects around climate change in cities. It shows that there is substantial demand for support on how to prepare and finance projects around climate change in cities. Almost 400 cities are asking for support for 1,143 projects worth close to US$60 billion.

The report argues that national governments, banks and others should make sure that the existing demand for climate projects in cities is met, and that more resources for project preparation are needed, particularly in the early stages. To achieve maximum impact, all support from organisations working in the field of project preparation must be tailored and contextualised and accurate project-level measurement of climate benefits and co-benefits is required.

The report answers the following questions:

• What are the common characteristics of climate-related projects for which cities seek project preparation and financing support?
• What are the sectors and geographical spread of these projects?
• What is the scale of capital investment required for these projects?
• What are the climate benefits and co-benefits of these projects?
• What kind of support are cities asking for to proceed to implementation?
• What challenges to project implementation do cities currently face?