Accelerating Urban Transformation through System Demonstrators
Opening
The Global Platform for Sustainable Cities (GPSC), led by the World Bank and supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), together with Sweden’s Viable Cities and the Viability Fund for Cities, will host a joint event at COP31 to announce a new collaborative initiative aimed at accelerating urban transformation through system demonstrators.
The event will bring together representatives from the World Bank, GEF, the Swedish Government, and cities to explore how coordinated action across urban planning, regulation, investment, procurement, and industry can help cities advance climate action and environmental sustainability.
Advancing Urban Transformation through System Demonstrators
Cities play a critical role in driving climate action, yet urban transformation often involves fragmented projects, institutions, and financing mechanisms. System demonstrators offer an integrated approach that brings together public and private stakeholders, policies, technologies, and investments around shared objectives to achieve lasting change.
The proposed initiative will initially focus on circular construction and building materials, exploring how cities can reduce construction and demolition waste, promote material reuse and recycling, stimulate demand for low-carbon solutions, and unlock investment opportunities across the value chain.
The collaboration will begin with a limited number of city applications to develop and test a shared approach, generating practical lessons to inform future replication and sustainable urban development programs.
14:30–14:35 | Welcome and Framing
- Olle Dierks, Viable Cities and Viability Fund for Cities (Moderator)
14:35–14:55 | Announcement Panel: New Initiative on System Demonstrators for Circular Economy
- Tobias Axerup, Deputy Director-General, Head of Department for Multilateral Development Banks, Sustainability and Climate (TBC)
- Ming Zhang, Global Director for Urban, Subnational Finance, Tourism, and Disaster Management, World Bank Group
14:55–15:25 | Panel Discussion: Demonstrator Cities and Aggregated Demand
- Olga Kordas, Director, Viable Cities
- Jon Andersson, Head of Environmental Strategy, City of Lund
- Asif Nawaz Shah, Global Covenant of Mayors and C40 (TBC)
15:25–15:30 | Closing Reflections
- Mattias Frumiere, Sweden’s Climate Ambassador and Chief Climate Negotiator
The event will mark the beginning of a joint co-design process during 2027, through which the partners will further define the initiative, its initial city applications, and implementation arrangements. The collaboration aims to generate practical knowledge and scalable approaches that can inform future GEF Sustainable Cities programming.
