Penn IUR, The United Nations Environment Programme unveil new framework to address gap in urban nature finance

CALI, Colombia—The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cities Unit released the State of Finance for Nature in Cities 2024 report, From Grey to Green: Better data to finance nature in cities, during COP16 Colombia.

The report highlights the need for more robust data—and tools—to help cities integrate Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into their financial and planning frameworks. 

Urban areas are home to more than half of the world’s population and are responsible for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and 75 percent of resource use globally. Yet few cities have nature-based objectives, data, budget performance measurements or guidelines that incorporate nature across municipal budgets, notes report co-author Amanda Lloyd, Global Programs Director at Penn IUR.

Combined with global underfunding, this means that nature in cities is under-prioritized, undercounted, undervalued and unequal across regions, slowing down investment. With global NbS financing needing to rise from USD 200 billion to USD 542 billion by 2030, such investments in urban nature can support cities in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. 

The report addresses these issues by offering a stocktaking Urban NbS Framework developed with the expertise and feedback of UNEP’s #generationrestoration. It also offers a tool for cities: a nature activity budget assessment with education components and simplified typologies designed to:

• Help cities integrate nature and NBS into their budget planning;
• Connect to their biodiversity action plans; and 
• Target new financing and funding for nature. 

Using case studies, the report guides cities on tracking, budgeting, and scaling their investments in nature, offering a path toward greener, more resilient urban futures.

“One of the major challenges that cities face when addressing Climate Change and Ecosystem Restoration is financing. But it’s not just about securing funds—it’s about knowing how and where to access that financing,” said Maria Amaya Saade, Advisor for Green Urban Projects in Colombia at the UN Environment Programme.  

“Too often, the necessary support doesn’t reach the places where it can make the most impact. This is why having partners like UNEP and UPenn committed to bridging this gap is a tremendous support.”

The report, co-authored by Eugenie L. Birch, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Sam Geldin, a Postdoctoral Researcher at Penn IUR, is a derivative of UNEP’s State of Finance for Nature series. For more information and to download the full text, please visit https://www.unep.org/resources/report/grey-green-better-data-finance-nature-cities-state-finance-nature-cities-2024.