Capacity Development for Financial Intermediaries in Urban Climate Finance (FICCAP)

Financial Intermediaries (FIs) are key to closing the USD 6 trillion annual urban climate finance gap. The EIB has launched a new technical assistance programme to help equip FIs with skills, tools and project pipelines to turn city climate ambitions into investable opportunities.

Urban areas are both the challenge and the solution to climate change. People, infrastructure and assets are concentrated in cities, making them especially vulnerable to climate impacts like heatwaves and flooding. They account for around 75% of global CO₂ emissions and two-thirds of global energy use, yet they are also engines of growth and innovation. The investment needed for climate-friendly urban infrastructure is estimated at over USD 6 trillion annually until 2050. 

Addressing this financial gap will require the mobilization of multiple funding sources. However, financial institutions traditionally struggle to identify adaptation-focused opportunities that yield reasonable returns on investment that align with their financial expectations.

To meet this need, the EIB has commissioned adelphi and VNG International to deliver the Capacity Development for Financial Intermediaries in Urban Climate Finance project under the Gap Fund. Open to FIs across all ODA-eligible countries, it will provide:

• Practical trainings and capacity building on municipal climate finance, adaptation and urban resilience, low carbon transport and logistics, water and sanitation, energy efficiency in buildings, renewable energy, waste management and circularity.
• Tailored one-to-one support for a number of partner FIs to integrate urban climate finance into their operations and pipelines with the creation of tailor-made tools and trainings.
• Peer learning with other participating FIs, knowledge exchanges, case studies and success stories shared across Gap Fund channels.

The aim is simple: build more investable projects and equip more banks to fund them, helping to close an estimated USD 6 trillion annual global urban climate finance gap. 

By taking part, FIs can unlock new markets, position themselves as leaders in sustainable finance, and play a direct role in accelerating climate action in cities.

This Technical Assistance operation is financed under City Climate Finance Gap Fund.

Partner Experts

Dr Jeremy Gorelick

Adriana Vega-Sánchez