Webinar

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.

date & time
02 Jul 2025, 12:30PM UTC
Urban Climate Finance course activity

As Global South cities face rapid urbanization and increasing climate vulnerabilities, the need for sustainable finance cannot be overstated. Climate resilience and urban development challenges can only be addressed through greater investment, current and future, into sustainable avenues that address both the climate mitigation and adaptation needs of cities. Yet even as cities face growing demands to deliver on climate action, they struggle with limited access to affordable, long-term finance. In every Global South region, the funding gap as a proportion of its estimated urban climate finance needs exceeds 90%.

As global discussions on financing reform gain momentum, there is a critical opportunity for mayors to influence these agendas and advocate for the financial tools and investments cities need to drive a just, sustainable transition.

This webinar aimed to equip mayors and their teams with the policy actions and advocacy messages they need to champion sustainable finance reform on the global stage.

Building on the momentum of the Sustainable Finance Action and Advocacy: A Roadmap for Global South Cities, launched at the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum, the session was designed to support city leaders in the lead-up to key milestone events such as U20 and COP30.

 

sustainable finance roadmapThis roadmap provides a strategic framework for empowering Global South cities to drive a shift toward sustainable finance and investment. Expanding on the above framework, this webinar aimed to ensure cities have the tools to attract the resources necessary for a just and clean transition through advocacy and action.

Speakers included:

  • Andrea Fernández, Managing Director of Climate Finance, Knowledge and Partnerships, C40 Cities
  • Lucy Auden, Head of Sustainable Investment Programme, C40 Cities
  • Jessie Press-Williams, Senior Analyst, Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance
  • Henrique Evers, Urban Development Manager, WRI Brasil Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
  • Gulnara Roll, Head of Cities Unit at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

This webinar was delivered in English with interpretation into Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

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