Cities in the global south demand climate finance ahead of COP30

As we inch closer to the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30, in Brazil this November, cities in the global south are pushing to claim a seat at the table — not just to talk, but to unlock funding they urgently need to adapt to climate change. One of those cities is Chefchaouen, a small, mountainous town in northern Morocco with a population of under 50,000. It’s known for its winding blue-painted alleys and ecotourism industry. But it also wants to be recognized for something else: becoming a model for climate finance to flow more regularly to small cities. Chefchauen recently hosted a convening of 60 national, regional, and municipal officials to discuss a question that’s gaining urgency in climate-vulnerable countries: How can local governments directly access the billions in climate finance pledged in Baku, Azerbaijan, at last year’s COP29? The finance is promised by wealthier nations and typically gets routed to national governments through funds such as the Green Climate Fund or the Global Environment Facility, as well as through multilateral development banks and sometimes directly from donor countries. Countries have to apply for this funding and navigate bureaucratic hurdles to get it — and the fewer resources a country or city has, the harder it is to secure funding. Chefchauen is one of the first municipalities in the Middle East and North Africa to receive support from the Gap Fund, a joint initiative from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank that helps cities develop “bankable” climate projects, which means they are likely to be attractive to investors and produce clear economic benefits. climate projects. With additional support from the U.N. Capital Development Fund, or UNCDF, Chefchaouen has already converted its streetlights to LED — an early win — and is now using Gap Fund resources to analyze its municipal waste stream and develop a more sustainable management strategy. Part of the city’s success in accessing finance is due to the support and collaboration with the national government. “We knew [Morocco’s] national government was into a decentralization agenda,” said Andy Deacon, co-managing director of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, or GCoM. “It’s trying to empower the regional level of government more, but also give more power to individual local governments committed to decentralization.” Chefchaouen’s long-time mayor, Mohamed Sefiani, who also serves as the MENA ambassador for GCoM, is active in bringing climate finance funds to the small-city level. He has helped boost Chefchauen to this pilot phase and made it a rallying point for advocates of multilevel governance. “It was a success because it’s the first time in these last two years that we’ve had a forum especially for finance at the local level,” Sefiani told Devex. The meeting last month resulted in a call for stronger cooperation between local, regional, and national governments to fill the climate finance gap, along with more local funding and simplified access to finance from multilateral development banks. MENA needs more money The movement holds particular urgency in the MENA region, which receives among the lowest share of climate finance globally, despite the high level of vulnerability that these countries face, according to a study by the SRMG think tank. On top of that, less than 10% of climate finance goes to the local level worldwide, according to the International Institute for Environment and Development. Funding from the big three global climate funds — the Green Climate Fund, or GCF; the Climate Investment Funds, or CIF; and the Global Environment Facility, or GEF, made up only 6.6% of the institutions’ cumulative global financing through 2023, the Middle East Institute wrote. Chefchauen alone will need an estimated $100 million over the next two years to meet its climate goals of reducing its emissions by 20% from business-as-usual by retrofitting municipal buildings with clean energy sources and developing a solar water market to help heat homes, hotels, swimming pools, and restaurants. The city also plans to further modernize public lighting with LED technology and develop clean energy transportation options. “If we have 70 or 80% [of the financing], we will be very happy,” Sefiani said. A growing trend International development finance typically goes through national governments, which then decide how it will be spent. They are inclined to favor large urban centers where capacity, visibility, and infrastructure tend to be stronger. Now, smaller cities are arguing that they are strategic nodes for climate action, particularly on adaptation, which is often hyperlocal. Deacon said that this is part of a broader movement to increase city access to climate finance, which is playing out globally. “There are some nice parallels between some of what has been happening in Morocco and some of the work we’re supporting in Brazil,” he said. They are working on a national commerce green resilience program, where they are working to identify one mitigation project and one adaptation project in each of 50 cities to create a project pipeline and present the projects for investment. “Some of what we’re doing is about broadening the base and moving away from focusing just on larger hub cities,” he said. “And this is becoming more of a reality.” The Gap Fund outlined a growing list of such examples — smaller cities in Latin America, Africa, and now MENA, taking early steps to develop climate action plans, analyze risk exposure, and design viable infrastructure upgrades. While these early-stage projects may not yet attract billions, they could pave the way for direct or pooled access to international instruments such as the GCF, Adaptation Fund, or even the newly operationalized Loss and Damage Fund — if capacity and coordination improve. Will they put it on paper? Like all countries in the Paris Agreement, Morocco’s new Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, which outlines its updated goals to keep the world below 1.5 degrees Celsius, is due this year. It is one of the dozens of countries that have not yet submitted despite an informal February deadline. All are due in September. Observers are watching closely to see whether it reflects stronger references to decentralization and local government roles. Notably, Morocco is one of only a few countries whose 2020-2025 NDC includes detailed cost estimates for each climate policy priority — offering a road map for potential financiers. The team behind the Chefchaouen initiative is also pushing for a broader urban agenda to be embedded in COP30 outcomes, including a dedicated workstream on multilevel governance. Still, direct access to finance for cities — bypassing national governments — remains elusive in most cases. “We’re still keeping track of how the urban agenda is being reflected in revised NDCs,” Deacon said. COP30 will be a place to see how much progress this push can make. “COP30 will be a great opportunity for cities to have more commitment and engagement from national government, from U.N. agencies, from international organizations, and MDBs,” Sefiani said. “We know it’s not easy, but at the global level, we are convinced that cities have a great role to play to implement the Paris Agreement,” he added. “The role of cities will be recognized by all spheres of decision-makers at the global level. Because without cities, we can’t implement the Paris Agreement.”