Cities’ Climate Infrastructure Financing: Urgency of Reform

Perry World House Visiting Fellow Mauricio Rodas has written a new piece on the urgency of reforming financing for city infrastructure projects to mitigate the impact of climate change.

The decisions cities make today will determine the planet’s future.

Cities are where the battle against climate change will be defined. Worldwide, cities are responsible for 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Global Commission on Economy and Climate, under a low-carbon scenario $93 trillion needs to be invested worldwide in climate-resilient infrastructure by 2030; 70 percent of this estimate relates to urban areas. If cities are to contribute to their countries’ abilities to meet Paris Agreement commitments, they will need to invest trillions of dollars in renewable energy, transportation, water and waste management, green buildings, sustainable public spaces, and other climate-resilient infrastructure systems.

However, the current financing architecture does not offer cities the affordable options they need in order to make these investments. To address the dissonance between the insufficient supply and growing demand for climate-resilient infrastructure financing, two things are imperative: a comprehensive transformation of the international financial ecosystem, and an expansion of local capacity to receive financing and execute projects.

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