Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance

In June 2023, the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) announced a partnership with the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN-SDSN) to produce a Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance. The Commission has a mandate to harness the insights of climate and finance experts, mayors, practitioners, and scholars to develop and champion innovative ideas and solutions for increasing urban SDG finance.

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Current

Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance

Current Themes

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development

Jeffrey Sachs, Mayor Anne Hidalgo, and Mauricio Rodas in Paris City Hall

Jeffrey Sachs, Mayor Anne Hidalgo, and Mauricio Rodas at Paris City Hall for the 2nd plenary meeting in July 2024.

Penn IUR

Overview

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance in June 2023, co-chaired by Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, France, Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Jeff Sachs, President and founder of SDSN.

The Commission is harnessing the insights of mayors, climate and finance experts, city network leaders, practitioners, and scholars to develop and champion innovative ideas and solutions for increasing urban SDG finance. The University of Pennsylvania hosts the Commission’s Secretariat.

Vision

Enable mayors to create inclusive and prosperous cities by locking in climate-resilient infrastructure investments that yield economic, social and environmental benefits for decades. In so doing, cities will contribute to the achievement of their nations’ NDCs and the Paris Agreement.

Meeting the challenge

As the Commission’s secretariat, Penn IUR supports the Commission’s objectives and its six task forces that shape their recommendations, building around four initiatives:

RESEARCH: Contribute to the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities by promoting dedicated resources and knowledge-sharing.
REFORM: Make urban climate finance a key component of MDB reform agenda by integrating urban content into country platforms through multilevel coordination and pipelines of project portfolios.
READINESS: Address systemic misalignments that impede collaboration between public and private sectors to promote enabling environments for climate action investments.
ACTION: Design and operationalize a Green Cities Guarantee Fund to harness international demand to expand direct access to climate finance for local governments.

Visit the Commission Website

Related Affiliates

We need new mechanisms and partnerships to mobilize the necessary resources for cities, allowing greater use of guarantees and local currency lending for cities at the MDB level.

Mauricio Rodas Visiting Fellow, Penn Institute for Urban Research

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