PRESS RELEASE: Climate City Capital Hub Welcomes Delphine Queniart as Hub Director

30 APRIL 2025 - BRUSSELS: Bankers without Boundaries (BwB) is delighted to announce the appointment of Delphine Queniart as Hub Director of the Climate City Capital Hub (Capital Hub). The Capital Hub is an innovative pan-European initiative that aims to scale up financing and bridge the investment gap for climate mitigation and adaptation projects in cities across the continent. It is part of the NetZeroCities implementing platform for the EU’s ‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’ Mission. 

With over two decades of experience in international finance, including senior roles at BNP Paribas and Société Générale, Delphine brings a wealth of knowledge in global markets, sustainable finance, and lending. Her expertise includes sustainable capital markets, blended finance with development finance institutions, and the design of innovative, sustainability-focused investment solutions for institutional investors. She also has extensive experience in financing and risk management for infrastructure and energy projects. 

As Hub Director, Delphine will oversee the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the Capital Hub. She will play a pivotal role in mobilising public and private capital to address the investment gaps faced by European cities on their journey towards climate neutrality. Working closely with city leaders, investors, and development finance institutions, Delphine will drive the development of innovative financial tools, blended finance structures, and tailored advisory services for urban climate action. Her leadership will be central to building strategic partnerships, accelerating capital flows, and ensuring the Capital Hub translates climate ambitions into investable and impactful projects. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Delphine as Hub Director. Her deep financial expertise and strong commitment to sustainable development make her the ideal choice to lead the Capital Hub into its next chapter. Under her guidance, we are confident that the Hub will accelerate the flow of finance to where it matters most in turning urban climate ambition into concrete action."   — Rupesh Madlani, CEO, BwB 

"Cities are at the forefront of the climate challenge. Through aligning finance and impactful sustainable urban projects by ensuring the latter are investable propositions, and developing solutions to mobilise a wider range of public and private investors, we can transform lives and communities by making cities more liveable, more resilient, and smarter places. I am very excited to lead the Climate City Capital Hub’s efforts to accelerate this transition within the NetZeroCities mission.”— Delphine Queniart, Hub Director, Climate City Capital Hub

"From the outset, NetZeroCities has focused on a comprehensive support platform for Europe’s cities to accelerate their climate actions, and improving their access to private capital has been essential. We know from our experiences helping cities that we need to address the gap that exists between cities and investment capital from both sides. The Capital Hub is a central part of our work to fill that gap, helping cities develop projects that are ready for investment and helping investment capital more effectively reach cities where they are." – Thomas Osdoba, Managing Director, NetZeroCities

NOTES TO EDITORS 

For more information, please contact: CCCH@bwb.earth or CapitalHub@netzerocities.eu

About the Climate City Capital Hub 

The Climate City Capital Hub (Capital Hub) is a neutral capital centre that catalyses climate-related funding activity. This first-of-its-kind initiative is part of NetZeroCities, the implementing platform for the EU's NetZeroCities project, which supports the EU’s ‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’ Mission.  The Capital Hub aims to help cities under the Mission to unlock the more than €300bn in incremental financing that is required on top of the amount already budgeted in order to achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and reach climate neutrality by 2030, and to unlock financing for climate resilience infrastructure projects more broadly across Europe. By providing cities with technical and financial structuring assistance to develop fundable climate mitigation and adaptation projects, the Capital Hub offers investors access to a robust and expanding pipeline of financially viable, investable projects.  

To find out more: https://netzerocities.eu/capital-hub/ or https://www.bwb.earth/climate-city-capital-hub  

About NetZeroCities  

NetZeroCities is a consortium of 34 partners from 27 European countries that is supporting the EU’s ‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’ Mission (EU Cities Mission). This assistance is provided as the part of the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programmes, in support of the EU’s Green Deal. NetZeroCities supports the 112 European cities selected by the European Commission to join the EU Cities Mission to serve as models and experimentation and innovation hubs for drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality. It works as a service-oriented platform supported by world-class practitioners to help Mission Cities overcome the structural, institutional, and cultural barriers they face in working to achieve climate neutrality. NetZeroCities aims to enable European cities and citizens to show the way forward towards an inclusive, thriving, climate resilient and sustainable future. 

For more information: https://netzerocities.eu/    

About the EU’s ‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’ Mission (EU Cities Mission) 

Cities account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions. Climate initiatives by Europe’s cities therefore have a critical role to play in achieving the European Green Deal’s goals of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. The EU Cities Mission is designed to encourage and support climate action in urban areas. The aims of the Mission are to involve local authorities, citizens, businesses, and investors as well as regional and national authorities to i) deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, and ii) ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050. The EU Cities Mission takes a cross-sectoral and demand-led approach, works to create synergies with existing initiatives, and bases its activities on the specific needs of each city. 

About Bankers without Boundaries (BwB) 

BwB, an innovator in global finance, is an investment banking, asset management, and advisory firm focused on delivering value to clients that benefit the environment and society. Powered by investment bankers, BwB is a not-for-profit company that serves the sustainable finance needs of governments, institutional clients, corporates, high-net-worth individuals, cities, and foundations worldwide. BwB is the lead finance partner in the NetZeroCities consortium. 

To find out more: https://www.bwb.earth/