Financing The Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure In Cities

Cities are faced with the huge challenge of providing infrastructure that meets the needs of a rising urban population, with limited public resources. Decisions and investments in urban infrastructure must be urgently leveraged to achieve sustainable economic growth within the carrying capacity of the planet's systems and resources.

WWF and Z/Yen Group, a leading London based commercial think-tank, partnered to provide an overview of financial instruments that can be used by cities and investors to finance the development of sustainable urban infrastructure globally. Titled "Finance Toolkit for Sustainable Cities" this joint research project was carried out between November 2014 and March 2015. It builds on WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge and Long Finance’s Financing Tomorrow’s Cities project.

The report reviews financing instruments commonly used to finance infrastructure and assesses their potential to finance the transition towards sustainable infrastructure, with a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects at city level.

This free-to-download report was prepared by Z/Yen Group and published by Long Finance and WWF in March.

For more information about this project or to share comments about the report, please contact Chiara von Gunten, Project Manager, Long Finance

Related events

• "Financing the Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure in Cities"
  presentation by Chiara von Gunten at the 5th GIB Sustainable Infrastructure Summit
  Basel
  28 May 2015
• "Session D2: Financing for low-carbon development and sustainable mobility"
  ICLEI World Congress 2015
  Seoul
  April 2015
• Report Launch: "Financing the Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure in Cities"
  London
  26 March 2015
• Webinar: Finance Toolkit for Sustainable Cities: Challenges & Opportunities for Innovation
  29 January 2015

Citations

• Henderson, H., Sanquiche, R. and Nash, T. (April 2015): "Breakdowns Driving Breakthroughs: 2015 Green Transition Scoreboard Report", Ethical Markets Media.
• Sam Barnard (June 2015): "How can international climate funds best support low-carbon and climate resilient urban development?", ODI Working Paper 419.