Time  

OPENING Session   

14:00-14:20  

(20 MIN)  

Welcome and Opening Remarks   

• Ming Zhang, Global Director, Urban, Resilience and Land, World Bank     

• Cheryl Hanway, Regional Director for Infrastructure, IFC 

Launch the GEF Sustainable Cities Integrated Program  

SESSION 1 – Financing Needs and Opportunities  

14:20-15:10   

(50 MIN) 

This session features mayors presenting one priority urban sustainability strategy, plan, or investment project that showcases innovation and transformation, outlining key financing needs, challenges, and partnership opportunities. It will highlight diverse urban solutions advancing nature-positive, low-carbon, and circular development, offering insights for MDBs and financiers on emerging investment opportunities to drive sustainable urban transformation. 

Opening Remarks by Moderator:  

• Cheryl Hanway, Regional Director for Infrastructure, IFC  

 Interventions by Mayors

• Belize City, Belize: Bernard Wagner, Mayor 

• Placencia, Belize: Warren Garbutt, Mayor 

• Brazzaville, Congo: Dieudonné Bantsimba, Mayor  

• Castries, St Lucia: Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel, Mayor  

• Douala IV, Cameroon: Edouard Hervé Mony Mpah, Mayor  

• Glasgow, United Kingdom: Susan Aitken, Councillor 

• Lo Espejo, Chile: Javiera Paz Reyes Jara, Mayor  

• Cape Town, South Africa:  Edwin Andrews, Deputy Mayor 

• Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine: Mykola Vavryshchuk, Deputy Mayor 

• Sofia, Bulgaria: Nadezhda Bobcheva, Deputy Mayor  

• Ningbo, China: YAO Kejun, Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal Government 

• Bogotá, Colombia: Carlos Fernando Galán, Mayor  

Concluding remarks by the moderator  

SESSION 2: Options for Subnational Financing  

15:10-15:55 

(45 MIN)  

This session explores practical financial instruments and funding sources available to cities, drawing on mayors’ experiences and perspectives on what works, what doesn’t, and what is needed to unlock investment for sustainable urban transformation. The discussion will highlight innovative financing mechanisms such as green and climate bonds, blended finance, PPPs, and multilateral funding and identify opportunities to strengthen access to finance for nature-positive, low-carbon, and circular urban development. 

Lightening Talk: financial instruments for sub-national financing.  

• Ming Zhang, Global Director, World Bank Group  

Reflections from Financial Institutions (2 min each speaker)        

• Lin O’Grady, Deputy Head, EBRD 

• Tatiana Gallego Lizón, Chief of Housing and Urban Development, IDB 

• Bheki Zwane, Principal Investment Officer, DBSA 

• Upasana Varma, Principal Investment Officer, IFC 

• Aloke Barnwal, Thematic Lead, Urban and Infrastructure, GEF Secretariat 

Interactive discussion  with city representatives

• Joe Gqabi, South Africa: N.P Mposelwa, Executive Mayor  

• Thulamela, South Africa: A.S Rambuda, Executive Mayor  

• San Pedro Town, Belize: Gualberto "Wally" Nunez, Mayor 

• City Government of Baguio, Republic of the Philippines Atty. Fred L. Bagbagen, Councilor 

• Sao Paulo, Brazil: Luis Felipe Vidal Arellano, Secretary of Finance 

• Panama City, Panama: Salvador Alan Aviad Cattan, Chief of Staff  

• Rosario, Argentina: Mr. Rogelio Biazzi, Chief of Staff of the Municipality of Rosario 

• Zrenjanin, Serbia: Mr. Bojan Radulov, Assistant Mayor  

• Novi Sad, Serbia: Vanja Petkovic, Deputy Head of the City Administration for Environmental Protection 

Moderator: Augustin Maria, Lead Urban Specialist, World Bank 

Time  

OPENING SESSION  

9:00-9:20  

(20 MIN)  

• Opening Remarks 

Ming Zhang, Global Director, World Bank Group  

Diep Nguyen-Van Houtte, Senior Manager, IFC 

Hong Peng Lei, Director, UNEP 

Aloke Barnwal, Thematic Lead, Urban and Infrastructure, GEF 

• Presentation on Urban Nature Program 

Xueman, Wang, Program Manager, GPSC, World Bank 

SESSION 1: Rethinking the Built Environment 

9:20-10:50 (90 MIN)  

The session discusses innovative strategies adopted by cities that integrate nature into land use planning, public spaces, and urban fabric. It demonstrates how cities are shifting from the conventional “grey” built environment to “green” infrastructure, embracing pathways to achieve low-carbon futures, greater resilience, and shared prosperity.   

Presentation of city practice:  

• Gabriel Olle Dalmazo , Secretariat of Food and Nutritional Security, Curitiba, Brazil 

• Sidney Ribaux, Director, Office of ecological transition and resilience, Montreal, Canada 

• Robert Sangori, Deputy Director - Urban Governance, Management and Resilience, Nairobi, Kenya 

• Wu Tao, Professor, Ningbo Nottingham University, on behalf of Ningbo Municipality, China 

Roundtable discussion among cities and participants   

• Brenden Jongman, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank 

• Diep Nguyen-Van Houtte, Senior Manager, IFC 

Conclusions and summary by the moderator 

Moderated by Xueman Wang, World Bank 

SESSION 2: Scaling Up Green and Resilient Infrastructure through Multistakeholder Collaboration   

11:15-12:30  

(75 mins)  

This session brings perspectives of urban planners, architects, scientists, engineers, financiers, and other key stakeholders on urban nature. It will demonstrate the importance of establishing a shared vision across stakeholders promoted through the GPSC’s Urban Nature Network.  

Interventions by organizations       

UNEP, ICLEI, C40, WRI, IFLA, AIPH   

Discussion with cities    

Conclusion and summary by the moderator

Moderated by Aloke Barnwal, Thematic Lead, GEF Secretary  

SESSION 3: Unlocking Financing for Resilient and Green Urban Infrastructure  

14:00-15:50  

(110 MINS)  

This interactive session highlights how cities and financial institutions (FI) collaborate to design and finance green and resilient urban infrastructure. Through short, dynamic City–FI presentations, the session showcases real-world projects, innovative financing approaches, and scalable models.  

Opportunities and Challenges of Unlocking Subnational Financing - Recap from Mayors Roundtable: Ming Zhang, Global Director for Urban, Resilience and Land, World Bank 

Opening Presentations by FIs and the WBCSD 

• IFC and EBRD: Market trends and project examples of sustainable debt instruments.   

• Jennie Dodson, Senior Director, World Business Council for Sustainable Development: Perspectives from the private sector on nature financing  

City-FI Joint presentations 

Each participating FI — IFC, IBRD, EBRD, IADB, and DBSA will invite one partner-city to jointly present a green and resilient infrastructure project. The session will be designed as an interactive dialogue between the city and the FI team, showcasing collaboration and lessons learned. 

Cities are invited to prepare a short presentation highlighting a past or planned project, while FI representatives will complement the presentation with remarks on how the institution has supported (for past projects) or plans to support (for upcoming projects) the city through project preparation, implementation, or financing. The FI can also draw on and share experiences from elsewhere. A one-slide PowerPoint template will be provided to facilitate preparation and ensure consistency across presentations.  

Projects may focus on climate adaptation, resilience, and nature-based solutions, as well as innovative financing structures. 

• Mykola Vavryshchuk, Deputy Mayor, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine 

• Lin O’Grady, Deputy Head, EBRD 

• Luis Felipe Vidal Arellano, Secretary of Finance, Sao Paulo, Brazil 

• John Morton, Senior Infrastructure Specialist, IBRD 

• A city from South Africa 

• DBSA Representative

• Carlos Sarabia, Director, Barranquilla, Colombia 

• Maria Camila Uribe, Principal Lead, IDB 

• IFC Representative

Interactive Discussion

Closing Reflections

Moderated by Upasana Varma, Principal Investment Officer, IFC 

15:50-16:00  

Next Steps: Urban Nature Program, Xueman Wang, GPSC Program Manager 

Closing Remarks: Ming Zhang, Global Director, Urban, Resilience and Land, World Bank