Noëmie Van den Bon’s Post

Despite all the climate action planning, greenhouse gas emissions from cities are not declining fast enough. Why? Too often, plans stall and get overshadowed by other priorities, leaving city teams frustrated and without the resources to take real action. On November 7th, we’re hosting the 12th edition of Futureproofed Talk for city climate practitioners. This time, it's different. We’re focusing on turning plans into real, tangible projects that can transform urban development. I’ll be moderating a panel that takes on the elephant in the room: the huge capital needs for turning climate plans into reality. Our discussion will tackle cities' financial challenges and explore solutions to get climate initiatives off the ground, even with tight budgets. Our panelists bring hands-on experience and fresh perspectives: - Piet Colruyt, an impact investor, will show in his keynote and during the panel how finance can be a force for good in driving climate action. - Fedra Vanhuyse, PhD, from the Stockholm Environment Institute, will share insights on unlocking climate finance. - Filip Coenen, financial architect of Leuven 2030, will offer practical strategies for city transformation. With recent elections, we're at a pivotal point—a fresh start and a six-year window to make a real difference. We know there's a wide array of events to choose from, but if you're a city climate practitioner ready to move from talk to action, this event is for you. Please note: The morning session is exclusive to our Futureproofed for Cities users, offering dedicated content for our current customers and users. Let’s stop talking and start doing. Join us, bring a colleague, and let’s start turning ambition into action. 👉 Register for your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/ej_nQ8uz

Our new #localgov digest is now out! If you have a project proposal for the #energytransition, want to know what opportunities the EU Green Deal holds for cities or would like to see how Stad Leuven drafted their first Climate City Contract, make sure to read this edition. https://lnkd.in/ep44sWZR #EuCityCalc Eurocities, NetZeroCitiesEU

In recent years, the City of Mississauga, ON, joined a handful of municipal governments in pioneering the inclusion of sustainability considerations in their annual financial reporting. By integrating climate change impacts into their capital planning and budgeting decisions, cities like Mississauga are setting the stage for further integration of climate action throughout municipal decision-making. Read the case study: https://lnkd.in/g-HCuQyb 

Climate plans are only as strong as the actions they inspire. Yet, cities face ongoing challenges that delay real impact, with financial hurdles and resource limitations often stalling progress. Do you want to learn how to turn ambitious projects into real, tangible outcomes— from practical strategies for overcoming funding barriers to insights on unlocking climate finance for cities? On November 7th, join us in Brussels for the 12th Futureproofed Talk, where local authorities, leaders, and innovators will gather to transform climate ambition into tangible urban transformation. 🏙🌳 Through hands-on workshops, inspiring keynotes, and a panel discussion on the critical capital needed to fund climate action, participants will gain the tools they need to bring climate plans to life. Here’s who you’ll learn from in our main panel: - Piet Colruyt, impact investor, sharing insights on finance as a force for good. - Fedra Vanhuyse, PhD, Stockholm Environment Institute, with strategies for unlocking climate finance. - Filip Coenen, financial architect of Leuven 2030, offering frameworks for city transformation. Don’t let your city’s ambitions sit on a shelf—bring a colleague and join us. After a full day of learning, connect and share insights with city officials facing similar challenges. 👥 Let’s create the impact we need. Register for your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/evE_xXUZ #transformingsocietytogether #climateaction #climatefinance #cities

That’s a wrap for London Climate Action Week 🗓 Last week, Andy and Antonia were out at various events across the city exploring a range of different subjects, and here were some of the highlights 🌊 On Monday 24th, Antonia attended Ocean Climate Nexus organised by Amal K., a reminder of how underfunded the ocean space is (1% of climate finance goes towards the ocean and SDG Life Below Water). This also offered a reminder that London was born a maritime city and owes a great deal to the ocean, but in return we must be better stewards to it. 🌱 On Wednesday 26th, Andy attended the Nature Positive Hub which showcases private sector action and investment at the nexus of nature and climate. ♻ On Wednesday 26th, Antonia attended panel on ocean as a climate solution at The Conduit where the focus was on 80% solution and 20% problem, a refreshing perspective on concrete actions we can take. 🌍 On Thursday 27th, Antonia attended a breakfast at the Goals House on ‘Exceeding 1.5 what does this mean for the planet’. Overall consensus that 1.5 is an arbitrary number but one of global significance that requires powerful and clear communications around what this means for us and the planet. 🌌 On Friday 28th, Andy attended ICE and Make UK's Carbonomics Unplugged: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to a Net Zero Galaxy event. This event was aimed at decoding the economic strategies pivotal to incentivising investment in decarbonising energy systems and nature-based solutions. ⚡ It was brilliant to see such an extensive range of climate events all over the city, and to experience a real energy for change. It's clear that London has the opportunity to pioneer #naturalcapital as an emerging asset class at a global level, and to lead the charge in climate adaptation and mitigation. #LCAW #LondonClimateActionWeek

A couple of weeks ago, the #Innovate4Cities conference, hosted by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) and the UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) brought together diverse voices with a shared goal: scaling up city climate solutions and policies while accelerating climate action at the local level. Engaged conversations in a room full of passionate people can ignite powerful ideas. During the event, I hosted a dynamic session where our partners, colleagues, and participants combined their passion, knowledge, and expertise to build #ClimateResilience and advance #ClimateFinance at the local level. We explored the complexities of the climate project journey that guides cities to transform their reality: ambitioning, planning, and building a resilient, sustainable urban future for all. Planning for climate finance access and action should start at the earliest stages of project preparation, and strong partnerships can accelerate transformative climate shifting. The collaboration between the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) and the City Climate Finance Gap Fund catalyzes this crucial moment. It is time to scale up climate solutions and support local governments moving from ambition to action. We are on this. Together. https://lnkd.in/dH-2twRj CDP Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) The World Bank Melbourne Centre for Cities ICLEI Africa Katie Walsh Chandan Deuskar Lucy Lavirotte John Michael LaSalle Cathy Oke Augustin Maria Giulia Macagno Andy Deacon Ghislaine Kieffer Benjamin Jance IV Davide Cassanmagnago Juan Pablo Astolfo Helena Monteiro Carolina Mesa Melissa Kerim Guillermo Piñones Aguilera Agustín Botteron Jazlyn Lee Marvin Lagonera Melanija Tacconi Marnie McGregor #mayors4climate #urbanresilience #sustainabledevelopment

Climate change is having an increasing and lasting impact on our environment and society. This is the context within which cultural heritage - tangible and intangible - is threatened by well-known, new and more extreme risks. Yet, while cultural heritage is acknowledged as being more urgently challenged by climate change, it is acknowledged that cultural heritage has also the potential to play an active role in the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient future. It is vital that research further explores how to make cultural heritage a readily available resource for climate mitigation, adaptation and for sustainable development. Read more about 16 international projects currently funded in the joint call by JPI Climate, JPI Cultural Heritage, and the Belmont Forum. It is truly embarassing to see Europe's richest country, Germany, standing idle aside, once again, so with no share in co-funding, there is not a single research project with participation from German researchers in this call. A painful defeat for me personally as Germany´s delegate to JPI Cultural Heritage. I did not manage last year to convince Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien and Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung how crucial a regular participation in such calls will be for the future of our cultural heritage in climate crisis. But I congratulate all the researchers and the funders on these excellent projects and wish them all success! Enjoy the read:

🌍 Cities are at the center of climate action, yet urban climate finance requires a fivefold increase to meet the needs. To close this finance gap, the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) has developed the 4C Agenda—a framework for catalyzing climate action in cities through Commitment, Collaboration, Capacity-building, and Capital mobilization. In our latest blog, Jessie Press-Williams and I explore how these four pillars can help cities overcome the systemic challenges of accessing and using climate finance effectively, paving the way toward a more sustainable and resilient urban future.

Do you know that cities in least-developed countries receive just 1% of needed funds for mitigation and adaptation? While the IPCC finds that efficient urban planning could cut emissions by 26% by 2050, cities need better access to finance to make this a reality. On December 4, join a dynamic webinar hosted by UrbanShift and the UN Environment Programme to explore how strengthened multi-level governance can scale up urban climate finance. Hear from local leaders and global experts from Global Environment Facility World Resources Institute ICLEI C40 Cities as they share challenges, solutions, and insights on bridging the urban climate finance gap. This webinar will also launch the 2023-2024 UrbanShift Annual Report! Want to learn how multi-level governance can unlock finance for the cities of the future? Don’t miss out! Learn more and register: https://lnkd.in/gfDUdP-Z 

The latest State of Cities Climate Finance report highlights a stark reality: urban climate finance needs to increase fivefold to meet mitigation targets. Cities—responsible for 70% of global CO₂ emissions—are pivotal to reaching climate goals but remain critically underfunded, especially in developing economies. This CCFLA blog, by Jessie Press-Williams and Hamza A., dives into how the "4Cs Agenda" provides a roadmap to close this gap. Through commitment, collaboration, capacity-building, and capital mobilization, the 4Cs aim to address both the quantity and quality of urban climate finance. Learn more about how this transformative approach can drive equitable, effective finance for sustainable urban futures. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eCU7rpqX