The event is being organized in partnership with:

With contributions from:

Background
The Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) provides a platform for a wide range of stakeholders from governments, climate funds, financial institutions, civil society, think tanks and the private sector to discuss a topic of interest in climate finance and promote linkages and coherence in the mobilization and delivery of climate finance.

• Opening remarks, welcoming the participants and introduction of the Forum
• Overview of the 2-day Forum and messages to the participants on what this Forum should deliver
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

SCF Co-chairs

• Mr. Ayman Shasly (Saudi Arabia)
• Mr. Ismo Ulvila (European Union)

Minister of Environment, Lebanon
H.E. Mr. Fady Jreissati

Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations
H.E. Amina Mohammed (video message)

Executive Secretary of UNESCWA, Ms. Rola Dashti

• Issues that cities are facing today, including ways that climate change socially and economically impacts cities, and the interlinkages between these issues
• Complementarity between climate actions and cities’ broader social, economic, and environmental goals and priorities, including those reflected in the Paris Agreement, SDGs and other UN targets relevant to cities, such as the New Urban Agenda and the Sendai Framework;
• Climate finance in the broader context of cities’ infrastructure and sustainable development financing needs;
• Finance gap that needs to be closed for cities’ sustainable development and opportunities that can be harnessed through climate finance
• Importance of the vertical integration that will help to align the NDCs with cities’ climate actions plans
  
  
  
  
   

Session moderator: Ambassador Mohamed Nasr, SCF Forum co-facilitator

Panel discussion:

• Dr. Laila Iskander, former Minister of Environment, Egypt
• Dr. Stephen Bygrave,^(bio)   Director of Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions in the New South Wales (State of Sydney), Australia
• Ms. Gabriela Gamboa,^(bio) Mayor of Metepec, Mexico Presentation
• Ms. Priscilla Negreiros,^(bio) Cities Climate Finance Alliance Project Manager, CPI Presentation

Session 2: Brainstorming session on sustainable cities and climate finance

Participants will be invited to have a brainstorming session around the issues cities are facing today and how climate change considerations are linked to achieving cities’ broader social, economic, and environmental goals and priorities, including those reflected in the Paris Agreement, SDGs and other UN targets relevant to cities, and the role climate and sustainable finance can play to resolve the issues. Participants will be advised to examine these social, economic, and environmental goals and priorities, as well as cross-cutting consideration of mitigation and adaptation from key urban sectors.

Brainstorming group focusing on buildings and energy sector

• Mini-case study presenters
  Mr. Naguib Amin, CLIMA MED, "EU for Climate Action in the Southern Neighborhood"
  
  Dr. Stephen Bygrave, Director of Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions in the New South Wales (State of Sydney), Australia

• Moderator
  Dr. Noura Mansouri, Senior research associate, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre, Saudi Arabia
  (Report back)

Brainstorming group focusing on water and waste sectors

• Mini-case study presenters
  Ms. Alessandra Peres,
  Deputy Secretary for Strategic Issues
  Federal District Environment Secretariat
  Brasilia, Brazil
  
  Ms. Roula Majdalani, Director of the ESCWA Sustainable Development Policies Division

• Moderator
  Mr. Grammenos Mastrojeni, Deputy Secretary-General, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Secretariat
  (Report back)

Brainstorming group focusing on transport sector

• Mini-case study presenters
  Ms. Yulia Zvorykina, Ministry of Transport, Russia
  
  Mr. Desmond Appiah, Chief Sustainability and Resilience Advisor to the Mayor of Accra

• Moderator
  Mr. Daouda Ben Oumar Ndiaye, Lead Climate Adaptation Specialist, Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB)
  (Report back)
  
  
   

Report-back of the discussion leaders from the breakout groups followed by a moderated discussion
 

Session moderator: Ambassador. Mohamed Nasr, SCF Forum co-facilitator
 

This session will explore ways to mainstream climate change into urban planning and projects, and available options for supporting them through climate finance, including through readiness programs. The session will also examine the enablers required for cities to mobilize climate finance and harness its full potential to meet the financing needs of cities, and available international support opportunities cities can avail of.








 

Session moderator: Ms. Fiona Gilbert,^(bio) SCF Forum co-facilitator

Presentation:
"De-risking: An Enabler for Unlocking Climate Finance"
Mr. Vahakn Kabakian,^(bio) Ministry of Environment, Lebanon

Panel discussion:

• Mr. Yassine Daoudi, Mayor of Guisser city and Vice President of the National Association of Moroccan Mayors
• Ms. Eszter Mogyorósy,^(bio) ICLEI
• Ms. Junko Ota,^(bio) Kitakyushu Urban Centre, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan
• Mr. Dimitry Halubouski, European Bankfor Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Plenary discussion

Breakout group on sources of climate finance for cities

The group will discuss the ways to identify finance for low emission and climate resilient urban projects, from public and private sources, at the national and international levels.

• Mini-case study presenter Mr. Yann Françoise, Head of Climate, Energy and Circular Economy Strategies, Urban Ecology Agency, Paris and Environment Directorate, City of Paris
  
  Mr. Jose Andreu / Ms. Alexandrina Platonova-Oquab, Climate Investment Funds (CIF)
   
• Moderator
  Mr. Christopher Moon-Miklaucic, Urban Finance Research Analyst, World Resources Institute (WRI)
  (Report back)

Breakout group on innovative financing mechanism and instruments

The group will discuss financing mechanism and instruments that cities can utilize to mobilize the funding needed for their urban projects, and the technical support needed.

• Mini-case study presenter
  Mr. Sinovuyo Mpakama, City of Johannesburg (video presentation)
  
  Mr. John Tidmarsh, chief investment officer, R20
   
• Moderator
  Ms. Priscilla Negreiros, Cities Climate Finance Alliance Project Manager, CPI
  (Report back)
  
  
  
  
  
   

Breakout group on the financial needs and investment priorities for cities

The group will share experiences on how cities assessed their financial needs and investment priorities in different sectors. It will also discuss the role of financial institutions in response to the needs identified.

• Mini-case study presenter
  Mr. Mauricio Rodas Espinel, former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador (video presentation)
  
  Mr. Arnaud Heckmann,^(bio) Principal Urban Development Specialist, ADB Mongolia
• Moderator
  Ms. Sophie de Connick, UN Capital Development Fund
  (Report back)

This session will focus on how cities can mobilize and access finance for their low-emission, climate resilient urban projects and opportunities to address the capacity constraints that city actors are facing. It will also explore ways to create the enabling environments and regulatory frameworks to unlock urban climate actions by the private sector.


 

Session moderator: Ms. Marzena Chodor,^(bio) PCCB Co-Chair

Presentation:
             Mr. Philippe Camille Akoa, CEO of the Special Fund for
             Equipment and Inter-Municipal Intervention, Cameroon

Panel discussion:

• Mr. James Alexander, ^(bio) C40 Cities Finance Facility
• Ms. Anja Graef,^(bio) HSBC Alternative Investments
• Mr. Arnaud Heckmann, Principal Urban Development Specialist, ADB Mongolia
• Dr. Ahmed Al Qabany, Manager of Climate Change Division, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)

Plenary discussion



 

Breakout group on access and accreditation

The group will discuss opportunities and challenges of cities in gaining access to international climate funds, including through direct access. It will also focus on ways to access readiness support for the institutions seeking accreditation to the funds.

• Mini-case study presenter
  Ms. Randa Mounir, former GCF focal point at Ministry of Environment, Egypt
   
• Moderator
  Mr. Drazen Kucan, Lead Urban and Energy Efficiency Specialist, Green Climate Fund
  (Report back)

Breakout group on project preparation and capacity-building support

The group will discuss the challenges that city actors face during the preparation phase of climate project and identify available technical and capacity-building support. It will also share information on available tools that can help the city actors prepare better project proposals by strengthening the climate rationale.

• Mini-case study presenter:
  Mr. Desmond Appiah, Chief Sustainability and Resilience Advisor to the Mayor of Accra
   
• Moderator
  Mr. Charles Wilson, Director of Development and Partnerships, Gold Standard Foundation
  (Report back)

Breakout group on incentivizing private sector engagement

This group will discuss ways to reduce the capital costs and financial risks for local businesses and start-ups to help mobilize private sector investments at the city level. It will also focus on the measures that city authorities can take to raise the awareness of private sector investment opportunities and ratchet up the capacity of local financial institutions.

• Mini-case study presenter
  Ms. Benita Ainabe, Financial Sector Specialist, Asian Development Bank (video presentation)
   
• Moderator
  Carlos de Freitas, Co-Director
  FMDV - Global Fund for Cities Development
  (Report back)

Report-back of the discussion leaders from the breakout groups followed by a moderated discussion

Exhibit

Lunch

Breakout group on the role of climate finance in empowering groups in vulnerable situations

Breakout group on enabling environments for inclusive growth

Breakout group on micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses

• Mini-case study presenter
  Ms. Sheela Patel, Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) (video presentation)
   
• Moderator
  Ms. Shipra Narang Suri, Urban Planning and Design Branch, UN HABITAT
  (Report back)
  
   

• Mini-case study presenter
  Youth for Climate Strasbourg, video presentation
  
  Ms. Hajar Khamlichi, President of the Mediterranean Youth Climate Network
   
• Moderator
  Ms. Carol Chouchani Cherfane, Chief, Water Resources Section, Sustainable Development Policies Division, UNESCWA
  (Report back)

• Mini-case study presenter
  Ms. Charlotte Scott, SouthSouthNorth
  
  Mr. Yann Françoise, Head of Climate, Energy and Circular Economy Strategies, Urban Ecology Agency, Paris and Environment Directorate, City of Paris
   
• Moderator
  Ms. Hannah Rotchild, ICLEI CiBiX
  (Report back)

Report-back of the discussion leaders from the breakout groups followed by a moderated discussion

This session will highlight the how climate finance can facilitate building a sustainable city that is more inclusive, participatory, gender-responsive and youth-oriented. It will also focus on how climate and sustainable investments can contribute to alleviating poverty of groups in vulnerable situation.






 

Session moderator: SCF member Mr. Ivan Zambrana Flores

Presentation:

            Ms. Banashri Sinha, ^(bio) UN Women Regional Office for Asia 
            and the Pacific (video presentation)

Panel discussion:

• Mr. Edris Loubega, ^(bio) Shack/Slum Dwellers International
• Ms. Ferrial Adam, Researcher, Gender CC

Plenary discussion

SCF Co-chairs

Host city / organization representative