"Learn about new and innovative methodologies that cities can deploy to narrow the financing gap for climate-smart investments."

Global efforts to successfully limit global warming hinge on cities. More than half of the global population presently lives in urban areas, and this share will only continue to rise over the next 30 years. As a result, the decisions made by city governments can have a direct and immediate impact on people—perhaps more so than national or international policies.

As cities grapple with meeting the needs of their growing populations and tackling challenges such as housing, air pollution, congestion, and energy access, they have the opportunity to take a green, climate-friendly approach to urbanization and invest in green transport, buildings, and other low-carbon and resilient infrastructure. However, cities cannot achieve their climate ambitions alone and must collaborate with all stakeholders, including business and investors, to meet the ambition of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming and build urban climate resilience. This report by the International Finance Corporation estimates the scale of the investment opportunity associated with fully achieving cities' currently stated sector-specific mitigation goals to 2030. It additionally synthesizes the current landscape of support relating to investment in climate-smart solutions for cities, mapping over 30 initiatives.

This report was authored and published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), —a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group. To read more about the IFC, please click here.