- CDP analysis shows amount needed to fund urban climate infrastructure projects leaps from $86 billion in 2024 to $105 billion in 2025
- Green infrastructure and nature-based solutions are the fastest growing sectors more than quadrupling between 2020 and 2024.
London, 3 November 2025: For the first time, the world’s cities are seeking more than $100 billion to build a climate-resilient future, new CDP data shows. Yet while ambition is scaling fast, the finance to make those projects real is still lagging far behind.
The 2025 Global Snapshot, developed by CDP – the world’s independent disclosure platform – in partnership with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) contains fresh analysis of the 2,164 projects disclosed through CDP-ICLEI Track, by 507 cities in 62 countries, so far in 2025 (1).
Launched as the COP30 Local Leaders Forum takes place in Rio de Janeiro, the Snapshot shows that the amount needed to fund urban climate infrastructure projects has jumped from $86 billion in 2024 to $105 billion in 2025, marking a steep a 22% increase.
The top sectors by number of projects in 2025 are buildings and energy efficiency (420), followed by green infrastructure (338) and transport (336). Examples of such projects include:
- Porto’s Transport Fleet Modernisation Project, which aims for 43% of the Portuguese city’s buses to be electric by the end of 2027.
- Freetown’s Treetown initiative, which has already planted and tracked 1.2 million trees in Sierra Leone’s capital
- Buenos Aires’ Community Distributed Generation initiative, which aims to harness 10% of the capital of Argentina’s solar energy potential, reach around 25,000 users, and cut 217,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.
Behind this progress though, the data tells a sobering story:
- 87% of projects are seeking financing.
- Of these, half (49%) have yet to secure any form of financing.
- A greater proportion of projects in emerging markets require full financing – 40% compared to 22% in developed economies.
- Just 7% of projects that indicated a financing model are seeking finance strictly from private sources.
- Nearly half of all projects are in the early stages of development, with many still at the initial scoping phase.
Investment demand is also highly concentrated: developed economies account for 83% of total reported needs, led by the United States (44%) and United Kingdom (23%), even though emerging-market cities represent 40% of all projects.
CDP’s companion report, Protected Places, highlights how lack of finance keeps many local climate plans from reaching operation. In India, only 5% of planned climate actions are fully implemented, compared to 75% in Japan and 86 % in China. Latin America and Africa show only 23% and 31% of actions in operation, respectively.
Meanwhile, CDP’s analysis of nearly 5,000 projects (4,979) worth $266 billion in total and disclosed by over 1,000 cities (1,066) in 100 countries between 2020 and 2024 reported to CDP-ICLEI Track, shows nature-based projects – covering biodiversity, water resilience, and urban green spaces, have seen the largest growth, rising from 7% of projects (79) in 2020 to 15% (377) in 2024.
Bridging the Trillion-Dollar Gap
Despite record investment demand, the disclosed $105 billion represents only a fraction of what is truly required. Cities worldwide need around $4.5 trillion annually to mitigate and adapt to climate impacts (2), yet less than 10% of total global climate finance currently reaches local governments (3). Without direct city access, the world’s climate goals remain out of reach.
Ahead of COP30, CDP, GCoM, and other partners are calling for cities to be fully empowered to achieve their climate goals. Specific measures include:
- Integrating urban investment needs into national strategies and policy frameworks such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
- Promoting innovative financial instruments that can diversify risks and attract private investments, while empowering cities with more direct access to climate finance.
- Strengthening multilevel governance and partnerships, such as the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP)
- Increasing disclosure to scale up investment flows, build investor confidence and ensure national climate policies are aligned with what’s happening on the ground.
Katie Walsh, CDP Head of City Climate Finance, said:
“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 $100 billion for the first time.
The financing tap for cities, especially in developing economies, must be fully opened to turn plans on paper into projects on the ground – creating jobs, fairer prosperity and healthier communities.
“By having a seat at the table in national planning processes, better access to global financing, and strengthening collaboration across government, cities can play their part in delivering Earth-positive results for businesses, people and the planet.”
Asma Jhina, Senior Advisor – Urban Climate Finance and Inclusive Action, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), said:
“The gulf between city climate ambition and critical finance remains stark, with global cities reporting a 22% increase in required funding compared with 2024, reaching over US$100 billion for the first time. The 2025 Snapshot highlights that almost half of the more than 2,000 projects disclosed are unfunded and shows worrying disparities of available finance between developed economies and emerging market and developing economies.
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.”
Notes to Editors:
1. Data from 2025 referenced here is as of 1st October 2025. CDP’s 2025 Disclosure Cycle for cities has not yet closed – disclosure through CDP-ICLEI Track is still possible until 19th November 2025.
2. Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance
About CDP
CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system. As the founder of environmental reporting, we believe in transparency and the power of data to drive change. Partnering with leaders in enterprise, capital, policy and science, we surface the information needed to enable Earth-positive decisions. We helped more than 24,800 companies and almost 1,000 cities, states and regions disclose their environmental impacts in 2024. Financial institutions with more than a quarter of the world’s institutional assets use CDP data to help inform investment and lending decisions. Aligned with the ISSB’s climate standard, IFRS S2, as its foundational baseline, CDP integrates best practice reporting standards and frameworks in one place. Our team is truly global, united by our shared desire to build a world where people, planet and profit are truly balanced. Visit CDP.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.
About the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM)
GCoM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership, uniting a global coalition of over 13,800 cities and local governments and 100+ supporting partners. The cities and partners of GCoM share a long-term vision of supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and towards a resilient and low-emission society. GCoM serves cities and local governments by mobilizing and supporting ambitious, measurable, planned climate and energy action in their communities by working with city/regional networks, national governments, and other partners to achieve our vision. Led today by UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael R. Bloomberg and European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera, the coalition comprises cities across 6 continents and 148 countries, representing over 1 billion people or more than 13 percent of the global population.
To learn more about GCoM, please visit the GCoM website, or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
For more information, or to arrange interviews, please contact:
- Samika Meshram-Jasinski (samika.meshram@cdp.net)
- George Bush (george.bush@cdp.net)
