September 25, New York — Today, members of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance gathered to welcome seven new members and renew their commitment to deploying finance for city-level climate action at scale by 2030.

Trillions of dollars will be required to help cities build the low-emissions, resilient infrastructure necessary to address climate change. The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance is a coalition of leaders founded at the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in September 2014. Now, almost exactly five years later, members of the Alliance strengthen their commitment to this goal.

Dr. Karsten Sach, Director-General International and European Policy, Climate Policy, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), who presented a keynote speech, emphasized cooperation and collaboration as critical to meeting the Alliance goals: “We must urgently increase cooperation between capital suppliers like investors and national governments, and demand for this capital at the city-level.”

The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance is the only multi-level and multi-stakeholder coalition aimed at closing the investment gap for urban subnational climate projects and infrastructure worldwide. Its 50 members include public and private finance institutions, governments, international organizations, NGOs, research groups, and networks that represent most of the world’s largest cities. As such, its members also represent the main market players in city-level climate finance.

As part of its renewal today, the Alliance welcomed seven new members to its ranks: The Climate Investment Funds, the C40 Cities Finance Facility, the Congolese Agency For Ecological Transition and Sustainable Development (ACTEED), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Global Infrastructure Facility, the Green Climate Fund, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Alliance also announced a new Secretariat and new, dedicated funding for its operations. Climate Policy Initiative, an international analysis and advisory organization known for its work to help governments, businesses, and financial institutions drive economic growth while addressing climate change, serves as Secretariat. New funding is jointly made available through two German government ministries: The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

“We need to innovate faster, learn faster from our failures, coordinate better, divide our labor, and focus where we are best with each of our institutions,” said Ms. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), who also gave remarks at the event. “The next phase of the Alliance is an example of cooperation at its best.”

By taking part in the Alliance, and by contributing expertise, access to networks, and funding, Alliance members have committed to work together to bridge demand and supply for sustainable climate-friendly and resilient finance at the subnational level. In its next phase, Alliance members have specific aims and deliverables to:

• Build awareness of city finance needs and opportunities
• Craft a strong global architecture to support measurement and evaluation
• Identify existing solutions and gaps in city-level climate-related finance
• Support new investment solutions that fill crucial gaps in cities climate finance

“The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance already has a track record of success in bringing together leading institutions to cooperate on mobilizing the capital required in our cities,” said Dr. Barbara Buchner, Executive Director of Climate Policy Initiative and head of the Secretariat for the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance. “Now with dedicated funding, we have big plans. We look forward to working with members to make the Alliance the main platform for cooperation, partnerships, and advocacy in the field of subnational climate finance.”

The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance was also featured this week in the high-level sessions of the UNSG Climate Action Summit on Monday, in particular as providing convening space and knowledge management functions for the Leadership for Urban Climate Investment (LUCI) initiative.

More information is available at: www.CitiesClimateFinance.org

Contact:

Europe: Caroline Dreyer, caroline.dreyer@cpiclimatefinance.org; +44 (0) 208 017 1341

U.S.: Elysha Davila, elysha@cpisf.org; +1 415 728 3613