Project Preparation Facilities Enhancing Collaboration to Strengthen the Preparation of Urban Climate Infrastructure

Substantial investments in urban climate infrastructure are essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the climate targets under the Paris Agreement. However, the current urban climate infrastructure investment is way below the required level. The 2021 State of Cities Climate Finance report estimated that at least $4.5 trillion of urban climate finance is needed globally on an annual basis but only $384 billion in such financing is made available. Closing this tremendous gap requires the effective channelling of climate finance from the national and international levels to the local level where project preparation and implementation takes place. In reality, however, local authorities and other project partners often lack the financial and technical capacity to prepare structured projects on their own. Numerous projects face hurdles in securing finance due to factors such as insufficient project viability, inadequate project development, and revenue uncertainty, among others. That is why project preparation facilities (PPFs) can serve as the “missing link” that can provide critical support for cities in preparing “investment-ready” projects that meet investors' requirements and priorities. 

The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) has a multi-year track record of supporting member PPFs in collaborating to provide increased support for cities. CCFLA’s PPF Connector program builds on this past work to provide a one-stop-shop to PPFs and city networks to facilitate coordination between PPFs so they can provide the support projects need to become investment-ready. In addition to the need for collaboration at the preparation stage, the success of the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other downstream financiers demonstrates the impact of close collaboration between PPFs and financiers in the final step of linking projects to implementation financing. 

This event aims to show how PPFs unlock urban climate finance by showcasing successful projects prepared with PPF support, highlighting the importance of project preparation, and the need for collaboration between PPFs and financiers to scale the number of investment-ready projects. In addition, the event will provide insights into how cities can capitalize on PPFs and successfully work with them through case studies from cities that have moved their infrastructure projects from concept design to actual implementation with support from PPFs. The event will adopt a panel format and will include a networking reception.