Innovative financing solutions for green and resilient cities
19 October 14:00 - 15:30
In late 2019, the European Union released the EU Green Deal (GD), which contains a set of strategic measures with the overall aim of turning Europe into a climate-neutral continent by 2050. In order to meet the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2030 and reach the objectives of the European green deal, the EU advises cities and regions to direct investments towards sustainable projects and activities, while the current COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need to redirect money towards sustainable projects in order to make economies and societies more resilient against climate, environmental and human-induced shocks.
Despite these efforts, cities and regions face severe lack of financial resources which are needed to conduct adaptation and resilience projects in this area because of various obstacles on the way, either they refer on business model barriers or ongoing capacity issues. That is why cities are looking for new opportunities to finance their adaptation projects and meet the sustainable development goals. There are numerous schemes, which have been already implemented in different cities all around the world in order to finance climate change adaptation measures; these are either direct subsidies, climate bonds or co-funding options.
The session will invite experts from European institutions, such as the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and from cities that have implemented innovative adaptation projects using a combination of public and private sources of funding, including crowdfunding approaches.
Speakers
Senior Advisor, LIFE Programme, European Commission
Bernd Decker, Senior Advisor, LIFE Programme, European Commission
Bernd coordinates the sub-programme climate action of LIFE and specialises particularly on urban adaptation and mitigation strategies within the sub-programme. Before joining CINEA, Bernd managed urban transport projects at Rupprecht Consult and worked on urban environmental management programmes at UNHABITAT.
Deputy Chief Resilience Officer, Thessaloniki
Stella Psarropoulou, Deputy Chief Resilience Officer, Thessaloniki
She has been working on the development and implementation of the city’s Resilient Strategy “Thessaloniki 2030”, holding the portfolio of Financial Planning and Administrative Affairs and just recently became the Project Manager of the city’s Urban
Resilience Observatory, a newly established Municipal Office launched in October 2019. She is the Project Coordinator of the European Investment Bank Finance Contract for the Municipality of Thessaloniki and project team member of a number of European funded projects relevant to her expertise. Her background is in Financial Studies, she holds a Master’s degree in “European Integration & Governance”, University of Macedonia, Greece and a second Master’s degree in “Spatial Planning for Sustainable and Resilient Urban Development”, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Faculty School, Greece.
Greater Manchester Climate Resilience Lead
Matt Ellis, Greater Manchester Climate Resilience Lead
With over 20 years’ experience as a qualified planner, it is Matt’s belief that the critical ecosystem services our natural environment provide need protecting and planning for, just as we would for any other piece critical infrastructure. And now, with the climate and ecological emergency more visible than ever, Matt is convinced that we must capture the value and climate resilience services flowing from our natural environment. And this must support us in protecting these assets as well as massively increase our investment in them. This has all led to Matt’s involvement in Greater Manchester’s efforts to stimulate new investment into its natural environment. And most recently participation in the UIA funded innovative nature-based financing IGNITIONGM project.
Associate Director in EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group
Lin O’Grady, Associate Director in EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group
Lin O’Grady has more than 30 years of experience, working internationally in the transport and municipal infrastructure sectors, for both the public and private sectors. She is an Associate Director in EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group (SIG). Lin started her career as an ODI (Overseas Development Institute) fellow in Southern Africa and went after this to work for the Department for International Development (DFID). She then worked in the private sector, in transport consultancy in both South and East Africa, followed by the European Commissions’ TACIS (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States) programme. Lin has a BA in Economics and an MSc in Transport Planning and Engineering.
Coordinator, Natural Capital Finance Facility, European Investment Bank
Stefanie Lindenberg, Coordinator, Natural Capital Finance Facility, European Investment Bank
Stefanie is a Coordinator for the Natural Capital Finance Facility (NCFF) which aims to provide finance to projects investing into biodiversity and nature-based adaptation with the European Investment Bank (EIB). Before being appointed to coordinate work on the NCFF, Stefanie was part of the EIB’s Climate, Environment and Social team. Stefanie has also gained experience with the European Commission’s Directorate for Environment, the environment team of a private consultancy company and the city network ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. Stefanie holds a Master in Political Science from the London School of Economics.
Founder and director of Intugreen
stine casparij kondrup, founder and director of intugreen
Is the founder and director of the Copenhagen-based agency, Intugreen, specialized in visual storytelling and advisory on sustainability. Stine holds a Cand.it. from IT University of Copenhagen, specialized in Green Society and Technology. Stine has worked at the Danish Architecture Center as Teacher in ‘Sustainable Cities’ and hosted guided tours in Copenhagen with focus on nature-based solutions and urban planning. Stine worked as Project Leader at the Nordic Council of Ministers (2015-2016), co-organising the Nordic Product Environmental Footprint conference in Oslo, 2016. Stine is the General Manager of Greencubator, Copenhagen (since 2015-). She is the Founder and Director of Intugreen (since 2015-); which is part of the EU Horizon2020 project, REGREEN, that aims to foster sustainable urban development through nature-based solutions.
Moderator
Coordinator, Sustainable Resources, Climate and Resilience, ICLEI Europe
Vasileios Latinos, Coordinator, Sustainable Resources, Climate and Resilience, ICLEI Europe
Vasileios Latinos is responsible for implementing projects and services in the topical areas of climate change adaptation, urban resilience and green infrastructure, as well as supporting the strategic and programmatic development of ICLEI Europe in this field. Vasileios has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, co-creation, capacity building, climate assessment methodologies and urban resilience planning and monitoring. He is also involved in standardization activities at EU and ISO level.