More than 250 African city leaders are in Nairobi for the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It is hosted by C40 Cities, and supported by UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and ICLEI.
Bringing together stakeholders from countries across Africa the UrbanShift Africa Forum will allow national and local governments officials, investors and civil society organizations to exchange best practices, foster partnerships, and advance climate ambition. The countries represented include Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Tanzania. A delegation of youth climate leaders will also join discussions to ensure the voices and expertise of young Africans remain at the center of future climate action.
With Africa projected to drive the majority of global urban growth in the coming decades, the forum’s sessions are set to focus on resilience, urban planning, and securing the financing required to build thriving, resilient cities for future generations.
During the UrbanShift Africa Forum’s opening ceremony at the UNEP headquarters, leaders will issue an open letter, signed by the mayors of some of the continent’s largest cities, urging African national governments to:
- Prioritise investments in the green economy and climate resilience
- Create good green jobs
- Strengthen municipal finance
- Remove barriers to public-private partnerships to accelerate climate action projects
The mayors’ letter aims to unlock much-needed funding for green infrastructure and sustainable urban growth.
The UrbanShift Africa Forum will also see the release of a new Roadmap on Sustainable Finance Action and Advocacy for Global South cities, which outlines the practical steps that mayors and their teams can take to start acting and advocating for climate action.
This new resource from C40, UrbanShift and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) will help mayors access affordable financing for important projects like clean energy and public transport. The Roadmap also recommends giving cities more financial independence, creating national platforms to coordinate efforts, and grouping projects together to attract greater investment.