News

15.05.2019.

GrowGreen conference: Taking action to mobilise finance for creating green cities

Securing sufficient long-term financing for nature-based solutions is frequently a challenge for city governments, which limits the extent to which cities can successfully adapt to climate change. In March, GrowGreen hosted the European conference on innovative financing for creating green cities to bring together stakeholders to jointly find solutions.

Experts in valuing nature and the contributions it makes to climate change adaptation, designing business models for nature-based solutions and mobilising finance for integrating nature-based solutions in urban planning shared their knowledge. Interactive workshops enabled participants to discuss experiences, work through case studies and identify pathways for action.

Participants and partners of the conference committed to six actions to continue the progress made during the event:

1. Develop strategies for long-term maintenance of nature-based solutions.

2. Engage new stakeholders and beneficiaries about opportunities to save or earn money through nature-based solutions.

3. Co-design a reference standard for nature-based solutions with IUCN.

4. Develop case studies that profile the role of coordinators and facilitators in engaging other stakeholders and developing business models.

5. Embed nature-based solutions into a wider programme on sustainable urban development.

6. Review existing approaches to developing natural capital accounts, using key performance indicators, and collecting data.

Find more information on the outcomes of the interactive training workshops and sessions at the European conference on innovative financing for creating green cities in the conference report here.

The conference presentations are available:

Building business cases using economic valuation_Trinomics

Business model canvas_Connecting Nature

Closing the implementation gap_Deltares

Conference actions_Manchester Climate Change Agency

Decision support tools for green infrastructure_Natural Capital Project

Financing green roofs_Clever Cities

Financing nature-based solutions projects_LGI

Greater Manchester Natural Capital Investment Plan_GMCA

Green sponsorship Torino_proGIreg

Measuring and valuing impact for NBS_Clever Cities

Measuring impact of investment_IUCN Urban Alliance

Natural Capital Accounts for London Boroughs_Eftec

Nurturing nature-based resilience for cities_ClimateKIC

Participatory approach_ClimateKIC

Shaping the Business Case_NatureSquared

Solving the finance puzzle_Naturvation

Southmere Lake Case Study_Clever Cities

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