Financial instruments for investing in sustainable cities

The document outlines the financial landscape for nine Swedish cities—Gothenburg, Linköping, Lund, Malmö, Nacka, Örebro, Östersund, Västerås, and Vellinge—stating that achieving climate neutrality would require at least 19,271 SEK per capita per year until 2030. It details municipal funding inflows, including taxes, subsidies, and debt, and distinguishes between on-balance sheet investments (equity and debt) and off-balance sheet options like blended finance and crowdfunding. A significant focus is placed on green bonds, with the nine cities having issued 52 such bonds to raise 31.2 billion SEK for projects like renewable energy and clean transportation.

• Achieving climate neutrality in nine selected Swedish cities is estimated to require at least 19,271 SEK per capita per year until 2030, which would equate to 200 billion SEK per year if expanded to all of Sweden.
• The nine focus cities have utilized green bonds extensively, issuing a total of 52 green bonds to raise 31.2 billion SEK for sustainable investments.
• Green bond proceeds in the studied cities are primarily directed toward renewable energy (wind, solar, thermal, hydro), clean transportation, green buildings, energy efficiency, waste disposal, and pollution control, while explicitly excluding fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
• Municipal governments in Sweden use a 'system of equalization' where the national government provides funds to municipalities unable to generate sufficient income, categorized as 'general government support'.
• While blended finance and crowdfunding are identified as off-balance sheet investment alternatives, none of the nine Swedish cities in the study currently utilize these methods.
• Current municipal investment plans are insufficient to meet the goals for climate neutral cities by 2045, necessitating new collaborations between municipal governments, private citizens, and industry.

APA

Vanhuyse, F., Piseddu, T., & Arra, V. (2022). Financial instruments for investing in sustainable cities. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/factsheet-financial-instruments-for-sustainable-cities.pdf

Chicago

Vanhuyse, Fedra, Tommaso Piseddu, and Venni Arra. Financial instruments for investing in sustainable cities. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/factsheet-financial-instruments-for-sustainable-cities.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vanhuyse |first1=Fedra |last2=Piseddu |first2=Tommaso |last3=Arra |first3=Venni |title=Financial instruments for investing in sustainable cities |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=February 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/factsheet-financial-instruments-for-sustainable-cities.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vanhuyse2022financial, author = {Vanhuyse, Fedra and Piseddu, Tommaso and Arra, Venni}, title = {{Financial instruments for investing in sustainable cities}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/factsheet-financial-instruments-for-sustainable-cities.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }