Advocacy
Unlocking Subnational Finance for Green Sectoral Transformation: Building & Cooling Pathways
Hosted during COP30 in Belém, Brazil, these dynamic panel discussions will explore strategies for enhancing access to transformative finance, and how these resources can support local climate transitions.
Image: Chuttersnap/Unsplash
Subnational governments need over $5 trillion annually to deliver on climate and SDG transitions yet access to finance remains limited. This session will highlight efforts to unlock local financing, starting with a panel on unlocking subnational finance for green infrastructure, spotlighting how cities can strengthen their institutional and financial capacity to access climate finance. Building on the UrbanShift learnings, as well as the work of the SDSN Urban SDG Commission, Local2030, and CCFLA, the discussion will explore own-source revenue generation, bankability, and integrated financing frameworks.
The second panel will dive into sectoral solutions—from passive cooling and clean construction to renewable energy integration—showing how cities are scaling building and cooling strategies to deliver just climate transitions. Featuring examples from cities, and contributions from JLL, ICLEI, GCoM and others, the session supports COP30 goals of Global Mutirão and the Global Cooling Pledge and Buildings Breakthrough.
Date: 17 November 2025
Time: 14:00-15:30 Brazilian time zone GMT-3
Location: COP30 Buildings and Cooling Pavilion, International Code Council, PV-C82, Blue Zone, Bélem, Brazil
Scaling up Urban Climate Finance through Multi-level Governance
Centering on the launch of the UrbanShift 2023-2024 Annual Report, this UNEP-led webinar highlighted learnings and best practices for strengthening urban resilience.
Sustainable Finance Action and Advocacy: A Roadmap for Global South Cities
This C40-led webinar, held alongside 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), aimed to equip mayors with the tools they need to advocate for expanded and accelerated access to urban climate finance.
UrbanShift Looks Back: On the Value of Expanding Access to Urban Climate Finance
C40's Jessy Appavoo, ICLEI's André Almeida da Vila, and UNEP's Sharon Gil share why and how UrbanShift has prioritized support for cities to access climate finance.
UrbanShift 4th Steering Committee Meeting
The final UrbanShift Steering Committee Meeting will reflect on progress across the network and offer opportunities for collaboration across partners.
