Cities Seek US$105 Billion for Climate Projects, CDP Reports

Cities worldwide are seeking more than US$100 billion in climate financing for the first time, according to CDP’s 2025 Global Snapshot released in partnership with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM). Despite growing ambition, the report shows that funding for urban climate projects remains insufficient to meet global needs.

The analysis covers 2,164 projects disclosed by 507 cities across 62 countries through CDP-ICLEI Track so far in 2025. The amount needed to finance these projects increased 22% from US$86 billion in 2024 to US$105 billion in 2025. The data was published as the COP30 Local Leaders Forum takes place in Rio de Janeiro.

Top investment areas include buildings and energy efficiency (420 projects), green infrastructure (338 projects), and transport (336 projects). Examples include Porto’s Transport Fleet Modernization Project in Portugal, which targets 43% electric buses by 2027; Freetown’s Treetown initiative in Sierra Leone, which has planted 1.2 million trees; and Buenos Aires’ Community Distributed Generation initiative in Argentina, designed to harness 10% of the city’s solar potential and cut 217,000t of CO₂ annually.

While city climate ambition is accelerating, financing remains a major challenge. CDP found that 87% of projects are seeking funding and nearly half have yet to secure any form of finance. Only 7% rely solely on private sources, and almost half remain in early development stages. The gap is wider in emerging markets, where 40% of projects need full financing, compared to 22% in developed economies.

Ahead of COP30, CDP and GCoM are urging governments and investors to empower cities through greater access to climate finance and integration into national strategies such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). They also advocate for innovative financial instruments, stronger multilevel governance partnerships like the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP), and increased disclosure to boost investor confidence.

“Cities, their people and businesses sit on the front line of climate change. Our latest Snapshot reveals both the size of their response and the glaring scale of the investment needed, now topping US$100 billion for the first time,” said Katie Walsh, CDP’s Head of City Climate Finance.

Walsh added that cities must gain better access to global financing and play a larger role in national planning to convert plans into projects that generate jobs and sustainable growth.

Asma Jhina, Senior Advisor on Urban Climate Finance and Inclusive Action, GCoM, said the funding gap remains severe. “Cities around the world are stepping up to tackle climate change but they cannot do it alone. Urgent access to critical funding is essential to deliver on their ambitious climate action plans,” she said.