From Ideas to Investment: The Gap Fund and Partner Cities at WUF13

Jul 3, 2026

How the City Climate Finance Gap Fund is aligned with WUF13’s call for safe, resilient and inclusive communities into investment-ready urban climate action.

City Gap Fund

Gap Fund delegation and partner representatives
at WUF13 in Baku.

At WUF13 in Baku, the global conversation on housing moved beyond the deficit in the number of homes needed. It focused on the systems that make housing safe, affordable and resilient: land, infrastructure, basic services, climate adaptation, access to affordable finance and local governance. Official and media reporting described the Forum as the largest in the history of the World Urban Forum and as a turning point in linking affordability, displacement, climate vulnerability and implementation capacity. This context was reflected in the Baku Call to Action, a stakeholder-led outcome document shaped through pre-Forum consultations and in-Forum discussions. Its message resonates closely with the City Climate Finance Gap Fund: cities have ambition and solutions, but they need project preparation support, capable partnerships and financing pathways to move from ideas to investment-ready action. [1-9]

The message was further amplified in the City Climate Finance Gap Fund’s participation at WUF13. The Gap Fund was represented by delegations from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in addition to a six-member delegation compromising representatives from cities and national entities from Indonesia, Kenya, and Togo. This included representatives from the Ministry of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia (BAPPENAS), the City of Eldoret in Kenya, and the City of Atakpamé in Togo. Their participation brought powerful national and local perspectives to the discussions, connecting real urban climate challenges with the Gap Fund’s practical role in early-stage project preparation, partnership building, and access to finance. The experiences shared by Indonesia, Kenya, and Togo showed how cities and national institutions can work with technical and financial partners to turn climate priorities into structured, finance-ready projects.

Conclusion of WUF13: the Baku Call to Action

The Baku Call to Action concluded WUF13 with a clear invitation to confront the housing crisis at its roots, organize collective action and leave no one behind. It calls on stakeholders to move from diagnosis to delivery by strengthening integrated housing policies, long-term and territorially grounded financing, multilevel governance, local implementation capacity, sustained public investment and accountability. [9]

How the Gap Fund contributions align

Across four WUF13 side events, the Gap Fund and partners tackled a central question: what does effective implementation look like when cities need to prepare and finance climate-resilient urban projects? The message was unilaterally clear: Effective implementation starts well before financing with strong project preparation, fit to purpose partnerships and mechanisms grounded in the realities cities face. Each event reflected a different dimension of the Baku Call to Action, spotlighting practical pathways for climate-resilient settlements and housing finance to nature-based solutions, multilevel governance and strengthened local implementation capacity. [10-13]

One of the clearest examples of WUF13’s shift from ambition to implementation was the Voices from Cities side event on unlocking finance for urban adaptation.

The session brought adaptation finance down to the level of real urban challenges, drawing on project experiences from Atakpamé, Togo; BAPPENAS, Indonesia; and Sahab Municipality, Jordan. Discussions focused on water- and heat-related climate hazards and how urban settlements can move from risk identification to financeable adaptation interventions. City representatives exchanged with project preparation facilities and development finance partners, including the European Investment Bank, African Development Bank – Urban Municipal Development Fund (AfDB-UMDF), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), on early engagement, resilient design and the partnerships needed to unlock finance. [10]

For the Gap Fund, the session showed how early-stage support can turn urban climate priorities into action. In Atakpamé, the Fund is supporting a pre-feasibility study for nature-based flood protection and integrated river restoration, with AfDB-UMDF expressing interest in financing the subsequent feasibility study. In Indonesia, discussions with BAPPENAS and AIIB are advancing potential technical assistance for climate-resilient infrastructure development along the North Coast of Java.

These practical examples highlighted the critical role of early-stage support in assisting cities and national partners to clarify their needs, sequence technical assistance, and identify pathways toward follow-on finance. Instead of viewing climate finance as a standalone agenda, the discussion integrated it into the everyday systems that cities utilize to deliver resilient infrastructure and services. Collectively, these examples illustrate the essential bridge between ambition and finance, emphasizing the importance of project preparation, partnerships, and local capacity in transforming promising concepts into investable urban projects. [1,9-13]

Voices from Cities side event on unlocking finance for urban adaptation.

Alignment with the Baku Call to Action: The session reflects the Call’s emphasis on climate-resilient settlements, locally grounded solutions, multilevel collaboration and local implementation capacity. It shows how city-level priorities can be translated into structured project concepts when technical partners and financiers engage early. [9,10]

WUF13 made clear that climate finance is increasingly an urban agenda, shaped by the everyday realities of housing, infrastructure, adaptation and public space.

Against this backdrop, the Climate Finance Goes Urban event addressed the structural reasons that international climate finance still struggles to reach cities. It connected COP decisions, MDB reform, NDCs 3.0 and the wider urban climate action agenda with the practical question of how to design city-ready financing mechanisms. The event featured participation from key stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Ministry of National Development Planning BAPPENAS, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the United Nations University, the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), and the World Resources Institute Ross Center for Sustainable Cities (WRI).

The platform explored how international climate policy and financing approaches can enable city-ready mechanisms that accelerate climate-resilient urban infrastructure and support a just urban transition.  By bringing together cities, financial institutions, and development partners, the event highlighted practical pathways to unlock finance, strengthen collaboration, and better align global frameworks with local implementation needs.

Panel discussion on climate finance goes urban at WUF13.

Alignment with the Baku Call to Action: The session supports the Call’s focus on long-term, territorially grounded finance; municipal finance; decentralized resources; multilevel governance; and implementation capacity. It shows that global climate commitments matter for cities only when they can be translated into the financial systems local governments use to prepare and deliver resilient infrastructure. [9,11]

The Investor Roundtable on sustainable housing finance side event showed that housing finance is not only about real estate, but also about the wider urban systems that make homes inclusive, resilient and liveable.

The discussion moved beyond housing as a stand-alone asset class and framed sustainable housing finance through a systems lens. Participants connected housing to land, energy, transport, water, public space, social and rental models, resilient infrastructure, climate resilience and sustainable materials.

By bringing together multilateral development banks, city networks, national and local governments and urban practitioners, the roundtable unpacked how housing investment can become more programmatic, scalable and locally grounded. The event featured participation from key organizations, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), representatives from the Central Bosnia Canton, and Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM). A central question was how MDBs can better support cities and countries in designing investment approaches that respond to real urban needs while meeting the requirements of long-term finance. [12]

The event underscored the vast wealth of cities in innovative solutions; while the greatest challenge lies in the preparation, structuring, and financing of these solutions at the necessary scale. This complexity is particularly evident in sectors such as public housing, where the integration of climate resilience, affordability, land use, infrastructure, and sustained public investment is critical. [11]

For the Gap Fund, this discussion highlighted the crucial need for early-stage preparation. Achieving sustainable housing and resilient urban infrastructure necessitates integrated planning, robust local capacity, and financing pathways that link climate ambitions with bankable investments.

 

 

Partners and speakers at the Investor Roundtable on sustainable housing finance.

Alignment with the Baku Call to Action: The discussion directly supports the Call’s message that housing should be integrated with land, services, infrastructure, transport and economic opportunity. It also reflects the urgency of improving affordability, diversifying housing approaches, expanding access to credit and strengthening coordinated housing finance systems. [9,12]

The practical training on Nature-Based Solutions translated WUF13’s implementation agenda into project preparation skills for climate-resilient cities.

This side event, co-organized with ICLEI, GCoM and AfDB, provided city officials and urban practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of the lifecycle of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects. Participants learned to identify needs, define concepts, and navigate the stages of structuring, feasibility, financing, and implementation readiness.

Through practical tools and partner resources, the training supported prioritization and decision-making for climate-resilient urban investments. Participants engaged in group exercises focused on housing and residential areas, exploring how to identify gaps, sequence support, and advance concepts towards finance-ready pipelines. [13]

The event was highly attended, reflecting the growing interest in project preparation capacity development for NbS and climate-resilient infrastructure. Participants from local, regional, and national governments across Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda came together, underscoring the demand for effective solutions in these areas. This strong turnout reinforced the notion that while nature-based solutions can effectively address challenges related to cooling, flood management, biodiversity, and livability, cities require practical tools and financing pathways to make these solutions bankable.

Nature-Based Solutions training for climate-resilient cities at WUF13.

Alignment with the Baku Call to Action: The training advances the Call’s priorities on climate-resilient homes, nature-based and locally grounded solutions, data, capacity and implementation. It illustrates the practical role of the Gap Fund in helping cities bridge the gap between policy ambition and viable project pipelines. [9,13]

Five takeaways from WUF13 for the Gap Fund

  • Housing and climate action are inseparable. Resilient housing depends on resilient infrastructure, services, land use, public space, risk reduction and climate finance.
  • Finance must be city-ready. Cities need mechanisms that are easier to access, predictable over time and designed around local investment needs.
  • Project preparation is delivery infrastructure. Early-stage support helps cities turn climate priorities into structured, bankable and implementable projects.
  • Nature-based solutions need practical financing pathways. NbS can support cooling, flood management, biodiversity and liveability, but cities need tools to make them investment-ready.
  • Partnerships close the gap. Collaboration between cities, national governments, MDBs, technical partners and communities moves projects from ambition to implementation.

Continuing the work beyond Baku

WUF13 confirmed that the challenge is not a lack of urban ambition. Cities and communities are already developing approaches to climate-resilient housing, infrastructure, adaptation and public spaces. The decisive task is to prepare, structure and finance these solutions at the scale required to meet growing urban needs.

In Baku, the Gap Fund highlighted the critical link between ambition and investment. By supporting early-stage project preparation, strategic partnerships and local capacity, the Fund helps transform promising urban concepts into bankable and investable projects. As the Baku Call to Action shifts the global focus from commitments to implementation, the City Climate Finance Gap Fund remains committed to helping cities bridge the gap between vision and delivery. [1,9-13]

Gap Fund representatives also participated in additional panel discussions, sharing lessons from the Fund’s work with cities to advance climate-smart urban investments.

Sources and references