Tuesday 12 December 2017

Mayors launch finance schemes to make cities greener

Three new finance initiatives to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement in cities and across the world have been launched.

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy has said it will work with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI and other regional partners to help local governments drive green investments and implement policies regarding renewables, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and waste management.

It suggested city leaders must recognise the importance of working closely with national governments and business sectors to mobilise global climate action.

The group also issued a call to better integrate local authorities in national climate investment plans, especially in Latin America, where they can help pilot how zero emissions measures can be implemented in historic, often fragile urban centres.

Finally, it announced a set of partnerships with the EU, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to help fill the urban financing gap, which is currently preventing many cities from implementing action programmes.

The EBRD is to initially invest around €500 million (£440m), with the goal of mobilising more than €1.5 billion (£1.3bn) of finance to ensure up to 60 cities have necessary resources to enact critical climate actions.

Mauricio Rodas, Board Member of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, said: "The battle against climate change cannot be won without cities and their contributions must be more prominently acknowledged, financed and integrated into national and global decision making."