The Challenge
Cities are responsible for over 70% of global CO2 emissions. At the same time, an estimated US$4.5 trillion is needed annually through to 2030 for urban climate investment. Yet most municipalities lack the financial expertise and tools to access capital markets for climate projects.
At the city level, public finance for climate initiatives relies primarily on municipal budgets, grants, and borrowing, which are constrained by fiscal rules, debt ceilings, and cumbersome national approval processes. Limited in-house financial structuring capacity, fragmented technical assistance across programmes, and a lack of investment-ready delivery models compound the problem. As a result, even when projects are economically and financially viable, cities often cannot access capital at the scale required to implement them, and struggle to translate climate mitigation and adaptation objectives into investment pipelines and models.
We help sub-national entities such as cities, regions, and semi-public corporate entities with reducing their carbon footprint and climate vulnerability, and strengthening their resilience, by turning climate actions into investment-ready projects and facilitating capital mobilisation for climate infrastructure through project preparation, innovative de-risking solutions, public and private capital markets advisory, and structured investor engagement.
The Climate City Capital Hub in Europe is an innovative platform, led by BwB under the NetZeroCities project, that tackles the urban funding gap in Europe by delivering investment expertise to help Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission cities and Adaptation to Climate Change Mission signatories structure their projects, working across the EU and neighbouring European countries.
It operates through a set of complementary functions, beginning with on-the-ground support and capacity building centred on bankability principles and investor expectations. Its project preparation work spans direct technical assistance (TA) and facilitation of access to other TA programmes, through to financial structuring that covers financial modelling, delivery mechanisms, risk allocation, and investment structuring. The Hub applies sector-specific approaches across the built environment, energy, mobility, and waste and circularity, while also developing broader city-wide and regional portfolios that bring together projects from multiple sectors into single, bankable investment opportunities. Alongside this, it designs scalable investment models that deliver innovative pathways and financing approaches capable of being replicated across Mission Cities, and it provides ecosystem coordination that aligns national and EU programmes, public financiers, and private investors through structured investor engagement. Finally, the Capital Hub supports deal structuring and helps connect projects with appropriate capital providers, facilitating the conditions under which financing commitments can be made.
A multi-dimensional tool, developed by BwB, that assesses project investment readiness and bankability, screening against impact and city readiness metrics, and risk-sharing and alignment needs between public and private capital.
Beyond the Capital Hub in Europe, we draw on a strong track record and deep expertise across emerging and frontier markets to structure innovative climate infrastructure and resilience solutions – engaging public actors, private investors, and philanthropic capital to connect local needs with diversified sources of capital, expertise, and networks, and to accelerate deal flow and transaction readiness. We help partners identify and evaluate blended, concessional, and market-rate financing options across clean energy, water and waste, green urban mobility, the built environment, and adaptation – centred on debt sustainability and maximum climate impact. Through deep relationships with climate donors, development finance institutions, and impact sponsors, we support the design of these structures and help identify potential catalytic funding or critical credit enhancement to facilitate execution.
Green and KPI-linked bonds enabling cities to access capital markets for the financing of mitigation and adaptation initiatives that deliver resilient urban infrastructure through a just transition approach.
City-level fund vehicles, including blended finance structures, that pool public and private capital for climate projects across urban areas.
Structures and solutions such as public-private partnership delivery models and guarantees that help de-risk private investment in climate infrastructure.
Frameworks and structures that enable cities to identify and generate revenue from co-benefit sources to enhance the bankability of climate projects, such as cost savings and insurance led solutions.
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