By Patricia Katto
Introduction
For just over a month, E Co. created a platform for both industry professionals and the wider public to come together and explore the critical relationship between cities and climate change. This took shape in our live series, “Investing in cities: funding urban climate action.”
Cities are complex systems made up of both physical infrastructure and human interactions, and their central role in the global climate response has only recently begun to gain wider recognition. As both are major emitters and highly vulnerable to climate impacts, cities must adopt coordinated solutions that integrate mitigation and adaptation measures. Through the series, E Co. set out to glean valuable practitioner insights from professionals with long-standing experience working with cities to implement these solutions. We aimed to better understand the evolving landscape of climate finance for cities, and to capture lessons learned about how diverse urban stakeholders can be effectively mobilised around climate goals.
In the first episode, E Co’s Founder Grant Ballard-Tremeer sat down with colleagues Isaacnezer Njuguna and Tamara Trumbić to explore the evolving role of cities in addressing climate change. Drawing from their diverse regional experiences, from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Western Balkans, the discussion highlighted how cities have shifted from being viewed as passive actors to becoming central players in the climate response. Both guests shared personal stories of what inspired them to work in urban development and how the communities they’ve served continue to shape their perspectives on inclusive, sustainable city planning.
The conversation touched on a wide range of important themes, including stakeholder engagement in complex urban projects, the internal politics that influence climate finance decisions, and the unique challenges cities face in accessing global climate funds like the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The guests also reflected on the need for locally tailored solutions and stronger collaboration between national and sub-national actors.
Episode 2: Investing in cities: funding urban climate action- adaptation in Africa – C40 cities
The guest speaker in this session was Elizabeth Wambui Mungai, a climate adaptation specialist at the C40 Cities Climate Keadership group. Elizabeth has over a decade long experience as a sustainable development professional and has garnered different perspectives within the city landscape from holding positions at the municipal level, and within international organisations. Her work has been concentrated on strategies that enhance climate resilience and facilitate funding for urban adaptation projects and she was able to bring key lessons she has learned in her previous role to the conversation.
Elizabeth offered deep insight into how African cities can more effectively access and implement climate finance by prioritising inclusive, community-driven approaches. Drawing on her work in cities in Kenya and beyond, she emphasised that meaningful engagement with both community voices and political leadership is crucial to success. In situations where local priorities, often informed by informal or traditional knowledge, diverge from political agendas, she stressed the importance of advocating for the greater good and building alignment around long-term benefits. Equally critical is ensuring that communities are not simply recipients of solutions but active participants in designing and implementing them. This co-creation can take the form of diverse and representative advisory groups, ongoing engagement throughout project lifecycles, and a strong emphasis on transparency and mutual accountability.
Episode 3: Investing in cities: funding urban climate action- ICLEI
In the third instalment, Grant sat down with Dr Meggan Spires, ICLEI Africa’s Director of Climate Change, Energy, and Resilience. She has led multi-country programmes focused on climate finance, energy access, and climate action across the continent, and facilitated a highly engaged session. They discussed the challenges of mobilising climate finance at the local level in Africa and beyond. Meggan also stressed the importance of stakeholder mobilisation, advising that local NGOs should build strong networks, clearly define their unique value, and tailor their approaches to align with the goals of potential partners and financiers. She explained that this will help effectively raise resources and establish partnerships. Meggan highlighted the involvement of the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises in informal settlements, as a vital but underutilised source of climate finance in Africa, due to perceived risks. She also briefly touched on the climate justice debate, acknowledging the argument that adaptation should be grant-funded since developing countries bear the brunt of problems they did not cause.
Episode 4: Investing in cities: funding urban climate action- Tali Trigg, EBRD
In the fourth episode, Grant is joined by Tali Trigg, the first e-mobility specialist with EBRD Green Cities. With over 15 years of experience in the field, Tali shares what led him to pursue a career in this area. The session covered the structure and implementation of the Green City Action Plan (GCAP), focusing on how it brings together diverse stakeholders across multiple sectors to tackle urban sustainability. Prompted by a high rate of technical questions from the guests on the live’s Q&A section, Tali was able to provide a comprehensive breakdown into some of the more technical aspects of GCAPs. In addition to this, the discussion emphasised the cross-cutting and integrative nature of GCAP. Tali also provided insight into how visible problems such as traffic receive more attention, while complex or less visible issues require stronger coordination and strategic framing. Tali also highlighted the mechanisms embedded within GCAPs for sustaining engagement and ensuring interdepartmental collaboration.
Series finale: B.42 Webinar- Miodrag Grujic, E Co.
To wrap up the series, our Senior consultant, Miodrag Gurjic joined Grant for a reflection of the 29th GCF insight report. The session began with Lead author, Patricia Katto, providing insights into the four questions the report was answering. These were: 1) What are cities and their role in climate change?; 2) How can we make cities more green?; 3) What are the financial challenges cities face in becoming green?; and 4) How can stakeholder mobilisation help overcome these financial barriers and facilitate green city initiatives? Following this, Miodrag and Grant delved into a technical discussion on some of the solutions that can be implemented to make cities more green. Miodrag also emphasised the importance of cities collaborating with National Designated Authorities (NDAs), to understand their priorities and align their city projects with these strategies in order to access funding from the Green Climate Fund more effectively. Tapping into his extensive experience working with the administration of the City of Belgrade, Miodrag also provided insight into what strategies work well for building trust or alignment between municipal departments and national ministries on climate or infrastructure goals.
Summing it up
Overall, this series has been extremely engaging and has enabled impactful conversations and knowledge sharing. It has also fostered community building in a space where mobilisation and collective action are essential for meaningful change. If you haven’t already, we highly recommend watching the sessions and exploring the valuable insights each episode offers. Also, do feel free to get in touch with our specialist consultants to discuss any challenges, or opportunities in the cities and climate finance space.
