The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city champions

Cities in developing countries are faced with unique problems due to climate change, internal migration and general population growth. Urban population growth brings with it many benefits, but in cash-constrained municipalities this can be particularly problematic as the financial resources cannot k...

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Main Authors: Jeremy Gorelick, Neil Walmsley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIMS Press 2020-08-01
Series:Green Finance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/GF.2020007/fulltext.html
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author Jeremy Gorelick
Neil Walmsley
author_facet Jeremy Gorelick
Neil Walmsley
author_sort Jeremy Gorelick
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description Cities in developing countries are faced with unique problems due to climate change, internal migration and general population growth. Urban population growth brings with it many benefits, but in cash-constrained municipalities this can be particularly problematic as the financial resources cannot keep pace with municipal infrastructure needs or environmentally-responsible decision-making. The confluence of these factors has widened the infrastructure finance gap in cities in developing countries and has made municipal leaders recognize the need to expand the variety of mechanisms available to help to close the infrastructure finance gap. However, in many cities, the commitment to green principles is driven by donors and external agencies, not from a deep appreciation of best practices for green principles or even the desire to make a city more climate resilient. This paper argues that the most effective way to institutionalise green practices within a city is not through a specially-dedicated environmental strategy but rather through a more well-established champion: the city‘s treasurer or chief financial officer.
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spelling doaj.art-94a670a294f44ea3943928a65c12312a2022-12-21T22:44:36ZengAIMS PressGreen Finance2643-10922020-08-012211413410.3934/GF.2020007The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city championsJeremy Gorelick0Neil Walmsley11 Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States2 EIT Climate-KIC, European Institute for Innovation & Technology, London, UKCities in developing countries are faced with unique problems due to climate change, internal migration and general population growth. Urban population growth brings with it many benefits, but in cash-constrained municipalities this can be particularly problematic as the financial resources cannot keep pace with municipal infrastructure needs or environmentally-responsible decision-making. The confluence of these factors has widened the infrastructure finance gap in cities in developing countries and has made municipal leaders recognize the need to expand the variety of mechanisms available to help to close the infrastructure finance gap. However, in many cities, the commitment to green principles is driven by donors and external agencies, not from a deep appreciation of best practices for green principles or even the desire to make a city more climate resilient. This paper argues that the most effective way to institutionalise green practices within a city is not through a specially-dedicated environmental strategy but rather through a more well-established champion: the city‘s treasurer or chief financial officer.https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/GF.2020007/fulltext.htmlcitiesgreen financemunicipal financemunicipal infrastructuredeveloping countrieseconomic developmentgreen bonds
spellingShingle Jeremy Gorelick
Neil Walmsley
The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city champions
Green Finance
cities
green finance
municipal finance
municipal infrastructure
developing countries
economic development
green bonds
title The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city champions
title_full The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city champions
title_fullStr The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city champions
title_full_unstemmed The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city champions
title_short The greening of municipal infrastructure investments: technical assistance, instruments, and city champions
title_sort greening of municipal infrastructure investments technical assistance instruments and city champions
topic cities
green finance
municipal finance
municipal infrastructure
developing countries
economic development
green bonds
url https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/GF.2020007/fulltext.html
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