The City Climate Finance Gap Fund, a trust fund established by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB), has selected three African cities for technical assistance grants. The funding is for the development of climate projects.
Among the nine cities selected for technical assistance grants from the City Climate Finance Gap Fund (Gap Fund) are three African cities. These cities are located in Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Ethiopia. Together with other selected cities around the world, these African cities will benefit from €1.8 million in grants from the Gap Fund.
This €100 million trust fund was launched in 2020 jointly by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The fund aims to support cities and local governments in preparing and prioritising climate-smart plans and investments in order to attract more funding and support from donors. The first wave of grants benefits at least two cities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Developing nature-based solutions
In Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, the Gap Fund grant will help identify and prioritise investments in nature-based solutions (NBS). Priority will also be given to green initiatives for public buildings, public spaces and street design. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience and improve liveability, particularly in low-income and vulnerable neighbourhoods.
In the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the Gap Fund grant will help integrate climate-smart investment plans into urban development planning, and prepare an integrated action plan including policy measures, priority investments and increased institutional capacity for green and climate-resilient urban development.
Developing climate action plans in Fez
The Moroccan city of Fez caught the attention of the managers of the new sustainable city fund. In this city in the northeast of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Gap Fund’s technical assistance grant will support national and local authorities in developing climate action plans at the territorial and municipal level, including the identification of low-carbon and resilient investments, including a regional vulnerability assessment, as well as piloting a dynamic scenario planning assessment for the city of Fez.
According to Gap Fund, the objective of this first round of grants is to support pilot projects at the city level. These initiatives contribute to providing a blueprint on how to address climate change mitigation and adaptation at the city level. These pilot projects will serve as an example for other cities, and will contribute to the mainstreaming of greenhouse gas mitigation in urban areas through learning and replication of best practices.
Jean Marie Takouleu
