The European Union (EU) is setting up what they call the Climate City Capital Hub, an international financial resource for supporting cities participating in the EU Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities to implement their climate action plans. This initiative has a €650 billion investment target leveraging public and private capital with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB). To date, 33 cities have had their plans approved, including Seville, Malmo, Lyon, and Florence, with more expected to be approved in October. 

The Climate City Capital Hub may present a deal flow opportunities for public or private investors across sectors, as companies in areas such as renewable energy, efficient buildings, and sustainable mobility stand to benefit from this investment. 

Let’s explore the Climate City Capital Hub in more detail. 

What is Climate City Capital Hub?

The Climate City Capital Hub is an initiative launched by the European Commission to provide technical assistance and financial support to cities aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The Hub will help the cities access diverse sources of public and private funding, including loans, grants, and innovative financing mechanisms such as sustainability-linked bonds. 

The Climate City Capital Hub is managed by the NetZeroCities project, which is part of the Commission’s Cities Mission implementation platform. 

Key aspects of the EU’s Climate City Capital Hub

• The initiative targets 112 cities across the European Union to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. 
  
  

• To achieve net-zero emissions, the EU has committed substantial investments of €650 billion in sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, and efficient transportation systems. For cities that fall under the EU Cities Mission Label, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has set aside €2 billion to fund climate projects such as energy-efficient buildings, renewable energy, and sustainable infrastructure.
  
  

• The Climate City Capital Hub will provide cities with expert advice, best practices, and tools to achieve sustainability goals. Policymakers, urban planners, and sustainability experts will collaborate to develop customized strategies for each participating city. 
  
  

• The initiative encourages collaboration among cities, advancing a network where successful approaches can be shared and replicated. It will also facilitate partnerships between private sector entities and cities. 

Next steps

The EU’s Climate City Capital Hub represents significant steps towards achieving climate neutrality, fostering innovation to support cities in their climate action efforts, and achieving net zero by 2030. From the 33 investment plans of the cities that are submitted so far, over €114.1 billion have been budgeted for climate actions — with an average of €3.6 billion per city. The commission is currently reviewing another 23 Climate City Contracts. 

While you’re here…

The €650 billion in EU investment will result in a number of public and private company beneficiaries, creating impact investment and lending opportunities for financial services firms. 

Seizing upon this opportunity will require extensive deal sourcing, exhaustive due diligence, and ESG performance assessments. These are areas where Auquan can help. 

Auquan automates and streamlines deal sourcing, due diligence, monitoring, sustainability, and compliance workflows so teams can move faster and more efficiently. Using advanced AI, Auquan generates material and sustainability insights on any entity worldwide — public or private — fine-tuned for your team’s investment and lending requirements.

Let’s explore how Auquan can help you and your team eliminate tedious and time-consuming manual data work and focus more on what you do best: making strategic decisions ahead of the market.