News & blogs

Featuring voices from cities, experts, and partners, these stories of innovation and impact are drawn from across the GPSC’s global network. News and blogs showcase progress, lessons, and thought leadership on sustainable urban development.
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The World Bank and the GEF launch next phase of Sustainable Cities Integrated Program

The World Bank and the GEF expand support to 40 additional cities with targeted grants and co-financing pathways to drive sustainable urban development Mayors and city leaders from 23 cities met in Rio de Janeiro ahead of COP30 alongside representatives from major multilateral development banks to launch the next phase of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Sustainable Cities Integrated Program. “Cities are at the forefront of sustainability, leadership and innovation,” said GEF CEO Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, opening the event. “Complex
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Building connections to support sustainability across the world's cities

The role of cities in addressing environmental challenges is both critical and transformative. By 2050, 75 percent of the global population is expected to live in urban areas, creating immense pressures on resources, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Amid these challenges, the UrbanShift initiative, funded by the Global Environment Facility, links and amplifies the efforts of complementary global programs using an integrated approach to create the sustainable, low-carbon, and nature-positive cities that we need. Decarbonizing cities to mitigate climate change Cities are
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Featured blogs

Riding into a greener future: How widespread use of subways could slash CO₂ emissions The climate crisis is getting worse, with both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and COP28 in its final agreement emphasizing the urgency of steep greenhouse gas emissions reductions to keep global warming below 1.5°C as overshooting 1.5° C might have a catastrophic impact. Given that urban areas may account for over 70 percent of global CO₂ emissions, many public policy analysts began advocating for public investment in low-carbon mass transit, particularly in countries that are not yet locked
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Transforming our cities: a collective path to sustainability What do sustainable cities mean to you? For many, it is about more than just green spaces and clean air. Sustainable cities are the nexus where innovative solutions converge to create resilient communities, fostering a delicate balance between economic prosperity, ecological integrity, and social equity. With urban sprawl encroaching upon natural habitats and climate change-induced disasters becoming more frequent, which pose threats to ecosystems, biodiversity, human health, and overall well-being, the need for building sustainable cities has never been more
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Why Should Asset Managers Care About Biodiversity? Biodiversity loss is set to significantly disrupt the world economy over the next decade. Despite the data and engagement challenges ahead, systematic and discretionary portfolio managers should not be deterred. 1. Introduction In the final days of 2022, a historic UN agreement on protecting nature was reached in Montreal at COP15. 1 Nearly 200 countries signed up for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a deal designed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Among the four goals and 23
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The second edition of the IUCN Leaders Forum was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 11 – 13 October 2023, under the theme Global goals for nature: tracking
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The Urban Nature Program aims at connecting and supporting cities and sub-national governments (together referred to as “cities” in this document) to implement
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SDG 11 aims to make cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Cities today face the challenge of rising waste – particularly in the
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Cities worldwide are grappling with the adverse effects of Urban Heat Island (UHI)[1], intensified by rising global temperatures from climate change. The
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Originally published here Since the 2015 Paris Agreement, there has been a groundswell in city-level commitment to climate action: almost 9,400 cities around
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Cities are at the forefront of understanding risks and devising ways to manage them. Cities worldwide are grappling with the impacts of climate change. Extreme
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The demand for investment in the affordable housing sector has never been greater. More than one billion people live in slums globally – a figure that is
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Originally Published here Fishermen in Indonesia know it from experience: the country’s mangroves are not just stabilizing an eroding coastline and preventing
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Explore the GPSC Newsletter to discover how cities worldwide are advancing integrated, resilient, and nature-positive urban development through innovation
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High levels of poverty coupled with conflict, instability, and climate-induced disasters, make the Sahel a difficult environment for the people that live there
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