Mayors of the world’s major cities have called for national governments and international financial institutions to help finance low-carbon and sustainable projects. These reforms are crucial for implementing the New Urban Agenda and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The C40 Cities Call for Action on Municipal Infrastructure Finance, details six reforms that if implemented would help create a sustainable and low carbon future for millions of urban citizens:
- Development banks must be reformed to respond to city needs.
- Cities must be granted direct access to international climate funds.
- The power to control finance must be devolved to cities.
- National governments must create a stable policy and regulatory environment.
- Innovation, standardisation, pooling and pipelines must become the new normal.
- Cities must be supported to develop their capacity to prepare and execute projects
The Call for Action was launched on Monday (17 October, 2016) at the Habitat III Conference in Quito, by Mayor of Mexico City and C40 Vice Chair, Miguel Ángel Mancera; Mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena; and Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, alongside Mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas; Mayor of Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa; Mayor of Caracas, Helen Fernández; and Mayor of Santiago, Claudio Orrego Larraín.
The Call is endorsed by 27 leading international organisations, including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP, WWF, World Resources Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council and Overseas Development Institute.
Financing climate action in cities is a major priority for C40 and will be a key theme of the C40 Mayors Summit 2016, being hosted in Mexico City from November 30th- December 2nd. The Summit will bring together the world’s most influential mayors, representing 650 million citizens to present their common goals for a sustainable future, one year after COP21 in Paris.
The full Call for Action on Municipal Infrastructure Finance can be viewed here.
