Scaling Urban Finance: Connecting Cities to Sustainable Capital Markets

Investor Roundtable | London Climate Action Week 2025 

BwB’s high-level roundtable dinner during LCAW2025 brought together a highly engaged group of private investors, along with representatives from the EBRD, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), NatureFinance, and the Climate City Capital Hub (Capital Hub), for a constructive discussion on the future of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), framed within broader reflections on sustainable urban and resilience finance. 

Key Takeaways: 

Given the pivotal role urban centres play in delivering emissions reductions and building resilience, city-level sustainable bonds could unlock new pathways for public-sector climate finance with strong investor interest. 

 Despite such interest, cities currently face major hurdles to green bond and SLB issuance – from structuring complexities to reporting requirements – with the need for capacity building and other support. 

 Cities face even more challenges in funding their resilience strategies, and capital markets and the insurance sector unquestionably have a role to play in developing adaptation solutions beyond green bonds and SLBs. 

Urban Finance & City Resilience: Connecting the Dots 

Developed in response to the urgent need to connect sustainable urban infrastructure with investment, the Capital Hub (an initiative under the NetZeroCitiesEU project) supports cities in translating climate ambition into investment-ready project pipelines. As a neutral, outcomes-driven convening platform, it ensures that city-led climate projects are robust, scalable, and align with investor priorities. By connecting the dots, the Capital Hub is giving investors access to underwritable city project portfolios that fulfil global climate and resilience goals. 

 Delphine Queniart, Managing Director and Capital Hub Director at BwB, commented: “There is obvious investor appetite for fixed-income urban financing solutions with clear views and expectations. We are looking forward to our continued collaboration and supporting relevant innovation to attract capital towards the mitigation and adaptation plans of Mission Cities.” 

Thank you to our guests and partners for the insightful exchange, and for advancing our shared mission of channelling capital to where it is most needed. 

How do you see the sustainable bond market evolving in urban contexts? Join the conversation in the comments.