A majority of the global population is set to live in urban areas. This puts city and local authorities at the forefront of implementing the changes and actions necessary for transitioning towards a sustainable local future in line with the Paris Agreement. With the global COVID19 pandemic further exacerbating social and economic challenges, realising this transition and accelerating climate action hinges on the ability of local authorities and stakeholders to identify and channel available funding opportunities by designing bankable projects.

This European Development Days session will invite the audience to explore solutions for bridging the climate action finance gap via more effective multi-level governance, peer-learning, and sustainable development and financing strategies developed by cities from Africa, Asia and Europe taking part in the DG INTPA funded Urban-LEDS II project.

Speakers include:

1. Mrs  Alice Umuhorakeye, Environmental Protection Officer, City of Kigali (Rwanda)
2. Mr Matthias Wohlfahrt, Head of the proKlima fund, Hannover (Germany)
3. Mr Shishir Shrivastava, Deputy Commissioner, Gwalior Municipal Corporation (India)
4. Mrs Giorgia Rambelli, Coordinator - Sustainable Resources & Climate Resilience, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, European Secretariat

Background:

The scale and pace of the interconnected transformations necessary to meet the Paris Agreement, and the SDGs, in a post-COVID recovery phase, requires all levels of government to create frameworks that enable tangible action and redefine how national and local priorities are harmonised, as well as how collaboration and progress across levels and sectors is organised, financed and monitored. Urban-LEDS II cities & session partners are cooperating and scaling up green and sustainable development and innovative financing in 60 local governments from emerging economies to Europe. The highly diverse backgrounds within which presenting cities act make the established practices highly relevant, beneficial, and transferable for a multitude of participants. Speaker participation is facilitated as part of the project.