Financing takes too long
More than 2,000 jurisdictions around the world have officially declared a climate emergency. There is no shortage of projects that cities want to tackle in order to achieve their ambitious goals. However, funding is often a problem. According to Eszter Mogyorósy, ICLEI Head of Innovative Finance at the ICLEI World Secretariat, projects are not stopped “because the funds are not available, but because the funds are not accessible … especially for the Global South.”
This inaccessibility is due to a combination of a lack of technical expertise on the ground and the current system of climate finance. As a result, it can take 12 to 18 months for the necessary expertise to be available just to conduct a technical study or develop a business model.
Daring Cities 2022 aimed to accelerate action on climate change. Accordingly, the conference focused on funding and the type of systemic change needed to accelerate the process. The organizers wanted to initiate a discussion about what it means to finance the climate emergency and how this differs from a regular financing model.
Climate protection measures compete with mandatory municipal tasks
At this Daring Cities 2022 event, Bonn’s Lord Mayor Katja Dörner gave a speech. She emphasized how important it is that any climate protection program meets local needs. In the case of Germany, climate protection measures at local level are still voluntary and not mandatory. This needs to change, said Mayor Dörner. Currently, investments in climate protection measures have to compete with other investments. This means that poorer cities are not free to decide on their budget and often have to focus on their mandatory tasks.
The participants in the discussion agreed that citizens and decision-makers need to be aware of the importance of financing climate adaptation measures. The floods in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2021 have shown that investments in resilience and disaster preparedness need to be improved. Outdated plans and outdated budget requirements make it difficult for municipalities to acquire funding.
Daring Cities 2022: Best Practices
Cities that have already successfully closed the funding gap include Makati in the Philippines and Monterrey in Mexico. According to Daring Cities 2022, both are examples of pioneering local governments. They are already driving the fight against climate change at a local level, helped by the fact that they are financial centers in their respective countries.
Daring Cities 2021 focused on African cities. In 2022, much of the focus was on the challenges and opportunities in Central and South America. Colombia’s strategy to protect the Amazon rainforest through nature swaps, driven by the country’s new president, Gustavo Petro, is one example of a solution.
Another example is the city of Bonn itself. During the @BonnGlobal workshops, it became clear that the host of Daring Cities is taking a leadership role in mitigating global warming. As the seat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the city hosts many high-level climate conferences. But it is not just a discussion center. In fact, with its goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2035, Bonn is showing how to turn words into action. The city has also introduced a formal reporting system on its progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. In July 2022, Bonn published its second voluntary local review of the SDGs.
Read more: The new design for Bonn’s Rhine embankment fits in with the city’s ambitious climate targets
