Hand in Hand for Urban Transformation

The document outlines a multi-level governance approach to urban climate action, emphasizing that while cities are primary sites of emissions and vulnerability, they require supportive national policy frameworks and international financing to achieve transformative change. It details local jurisdictional powers, national enabling environments, and specific access modalities for the Green Climate Fund.

• Cities are critical to global climate action as they emit more than 70% of global emissions and consume approximately the same proportion of the world's primary energy, while generating 80% of global GDP.
• Local governments possess significant jurisdictional authority to implement climate measures, including managing drainage systems, water retention areas, transport sectors, and building energy efficiency.
• A comprehensive urban transformation process typically involves six steps: preparation and analysis, stakeholder identification, objective organization, priority ranking, finalization of plans and financing, and implementation followed by monitoring.
• Local governments can utilize various internal revenue sources for climate action, such as property taxes, development charges, tax increment financing (TIF), and user fees.
• National governments are essential for providing the strategic policy frameworks and predictable finance streams that enable cities to undertake large-scale transformative projects.
• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) offers four primary modalities for cities to access funding: as part of a standard project procedure, as Executing Entities (EEs), as accredited Implementing Entities (IEs), or through a programmatic approach using Enhanced Direct Access (EDA).
• Guarantees from international bodies like the GCF can improve the creditworthiness of municipal green bonds for cities in the Global South, attracting investors who would otherwise avoid these markets due to perceived risk.
• Climate adaptation planning in cities risks causing forced evictions of the urban poor in informal settlements if human rights and participatory processes are not prioritized.

APA

Junghans, L., & Grimm, J. (2016). Hand in Hand for Urban Transformation. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hand-in-Hand-for-Urban-Transformation-1.pdf

Chicago

Junghans, Lisa, and Julia Grimm. Hand in Hand for Urban Transformation. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hand-in-Hand-for-Urban-Transformation-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Junghans |first1=Lisa |last2=Grimm |first2=Julia |title=Hand in Hand for Urban Transformation |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=August 2016 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hand-in-Hand-for-Urban-Transformation-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{junghans2016hand, author = {Junghans, Lisa and Grimm, Julia}, title = {{Hand in Hand for Urban Transformation}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = aug, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hand-in-Hand-for-Urban-Transformation-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }