What does the journey look like for a city to turn climate ambition into a project that can attract investment?
A new collection of City Stories from the Global Covenant of Mayors–Gap Fund Partnership highlights how cities are overcoming one of the greatest barriers to climate action: preparing projects that are technically sound, locally owned, and ready to secure financing. From restoring degraded urban landscapes and protecting vulnerable coastlines to modernizing essential infrastructure and strengthening climate governance, the stories demonstrate how early- stage technical assistance is helping cities transform ambitious ideas into credible investment opportunities.
Spanning nine cities and multi-city initiatives across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, the collection showcases a diverse range of climate ambitions and solutions while revealing a common lesson: Cities don’t need perfect projects to begin—they need the confidence to start, the partnerships to prepare, and the vision to turn local challenges into investable solutions.
Launching today, the first series on Nature & Resilience in Action showcases how cities are transforming degraded urban spaces into greener, safer, and more climate-resilient places through nature-based solutions, urban regeneration, coastal resilience, and sustainable cooling.
Featured stories:
- Palmas, Brazil – Nature-based solutions
- Kingston, Jamaica – Coastal resilience
- Podgorica, Montenegro – Sustainable urban cooling
- Dhaka, Bangladesh – Climate-resilient urban regeneration
