At the UN Climate Change COP25, five frontrunner cities have been selected for their ambitious and potentially transformative urban climate projects that could receive technical support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to get their projects off the ground.
The projects focus on critical urban climate action including improving waste management, cutting river and ocean pollution, sustainable urban transport, greening urban spaces and enhancing urban resilience to the effects of climate change.
The following cities: Cotonou (Benin), Makindye (Uganda), Monastir (Tunisia), Jambi (Indonesia) and Recife (Brazil) now qualify for the next phase of the Global Climate City Challenge (GCCC), a partnership between the Global Covenant of Mayors and the European Investment Bank endorsed by the European Commission. They serve as role models for climate action in key sectors and cities in the Global South.
The Global Climate City Challenge was launched in September 2018. From an initial 140 projects and 100 applicant cities these five have emerged as the frontrunners. Urban finance and climate experts are now working with municipalities and their partners in order to scope out the details of their project needs. If successful, the projects will generate important social and environmental co-benefits.
EIB President Werner Hoyer said, “Cities need support in getting their climate projects off the ground and, as we strengthen our role as the EU’s climate bank, we at the EIB need great role models. In that respect The Global Climate City Challenge, our partnership with GCOM, is immensely important: it showcases climate leaders like the 5 announced today but also helps identify what is really needed locally to make them bankable, improve the lives of local people, and tackle climate change.”
More about the projects:
- Cotonou, Benin, is striving to improve its waste management infrastructure and improve recycling and collection processes, fostering the creation of green jobs and entrepreneurship in the sector and reduce the amount of plastic discharge in its coastal lagoon.
- Makindye, Uganda, leads of a consortium of 4 municipalities in the Greater Kampala area and are developing a comprehensive climate action programme mainly focused on integrated waste management but including also energy efficiency and urban green areas.
- Monastir, Tunisia, is looking at ways to integrate nature-based solutions to enhance the city resilience, in particular in the city’s coastal area which is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
- Recife, Brazil, focuses on the rehabilitation and expansion of an existing urban park alongside a riverbank to improve sustainable mobility, reduce the risk of flooding and impact of heat waves while also contributing to carbon sequestration.
- Jambi, Indonesia, is looking at ways to improve its traffic congestion in a climate-friendly way for instance by introducing of electric buses.
Original source: EIB
Published on 10 December 2019
