ICLEI Cooperation
Strategic Partnership
bettervest and ICLEI joined forces
to close the climate funding gap
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 1,750 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in over 100 countries, ICLEI influences sustainability policy and drives local action for low-emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development. The network’s Transformative Actions Program (TAP) acts as an incubator for local climate projects of local and regional governments.
Background
With climate change as pressing challenge, cities are in the remarkable position of having the leveraging power to mitigate this development. The transformative strength of green urban development can lead our century into a clean and sustainable future.
Vast potential lies in urban climate action, but still climate finance is difficult to obtain. There is a huge gap between the demand for climate investment and actual climate investments in urban development. While the International Finance Corporation estimates that while there is about $22.3 trillion (IFC 2016) in “climate-smart investment potential” worldwide, the global management firm McKinsey reports that only $3 trillion has actually being invested (2018).
ICLEI and bettervest joined forces in June 2019 to help close this gap, promote the global energy transition and ensure a livable future.
Objective of the Cooperation
The strategic partnership aims to leverage the potential of private climate finance to facilitate climate action at the regional and local level.
Global goals form the backbone of climate change mitigation, with climate action primarily orchestrated on a national scale. However, we believe that not only national but also regional and local governments play an instrumental role in combatting climate change. By tapping into the private finance sector, the potential of effective local and regional mitigation can be unlocked.
Pairing bettervest´s innovative crowdinvesting approach with the Transformative Actions Program (TAP) accomplishes just that. The TAP supports local and regional governments in turning climate action proposals into low-risk, high-feasibility, high-impact projects. Once projects have been clearly defined and planned, bettervest steps in to provide expertise on bankability and as a source of funding.
Sustainable Development Goals
The work put into this strategic partnership is ultimately guided by a single mission: to promote sustainable and climate-resilient development in order to build a future worth living.