The governments of Germany and Luxembourg have committed €50 million (US$53.4 million) of new funding for the City Climate Finance Gap Fund (Gap Fund), a multi-donor fund, implemented by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank with partners.

These resources will support the development of low-carbon and climate-resilient urban investments and will nearly than double the fund’s capitalization, bringing it to €105 million, one of the largest early-stage technical assistance funds for cities and climate.

The fund provides much-needed funding for early-stage technical assistance and capacity building so that cities from low- and middle-income countries can operationalize their climate action plans, develop robust project concepts and access climate finance resources. Since its establishment in 2020, it has supported 183 cities in 67 countries.  

The fund partners collaborate closely to share knowledge, empower cities in addressing climate challenges and find ways to connect them with follow-on support and funding.

“This new infusion of capital will help cities move forward with their ambitious projects and help us move faster in the fight against climate change,” says Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy on climate ambition and solutions, co-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, and the founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg.