GPSC Mayors Round Table and Urban Nature Forum | The Global Platform for Sustainable Cities

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GPSC Mayors Round Table and Urban Nature Forum

19 November 2025 - 20 November 2025,

09:00 am

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In the lead-up to COP30, a series of high-level gatherings will take place in Rio de Janeiro from November 3–6, 2025, bringing together mayors and local leaders from around the world. These events will spotlight bold city leadership on climate action, highlight subnational priorities, and mobilize resources for an ambitious and inclusive COP30 agenda. The program will feature two main moments: the COP30 Local Leaders Forum and the GPSC Mayors Round Table and Urban Nature Forum.

The GPSC Mayors Round Table and Urban Nature Forum (November 5–6), convened by the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities (GPSC) – led by the World Bank with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – together with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and in collaboration with UNEP, C40, ICLEI, WRI, and other partners, will provide a platform for high-level dialogue, peer learning, and technical exchange. It will position cities and local governments as key actors in achieving nature-positive, resilient, and inclusive development ahead of COP30, and mark the official launch of the GEF-8 Sustainable Cities Integrated Program (SCIP), a global initiative to help cities implement integrated solutions across climate, biodiversity, and the circular economy.

The GPSC events include:

- Mayors Round Table (November 5)—a high-level dialogue among city leaders on sustainable and inclusive urban development, including the official launch of the GEF-8 SCIP.

- Urban Nature Forum (November 6) – focusing on urban nature policy, planning, and financing to scale solutions for climate resilience and biodiversity.

SIMPLIFIED AGENDA

Wednesday, November 5 - GPSC MAYORS ROUND TABLE

Time	OPENING Session
14:00-14:20	Welcome and Opening Remarks   Ming Zhang, Global Director, Urban, Resilience and Land, World Bank     Cheryl Hanway, Regional Director for Infrastructure, IFC Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility Launch the GEF Sustainable Cities Integrated Program [WATCH THE VIDEO]
	SESSION 1 – Financing Needs and Opportunities
14:20-15:10	Opening Remarks 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

	SESSION 2: Options for Subnational Financing
15:10-15:55	Lightening Talk: financial instruments for sub-national financing. Ming Zhang, Global Director, World Bank Group Reflections from Financial Institutions 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 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, 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

Thursday, November 6 – URBAN NATURE FORUM 

Time	OPENING SESSION
9:00-9:20	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	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   This session will start with reflections by the discussants: Brenden Jongman, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank Diep Nguyen-Van Houtte, Senior Manager, IFC The floor is then open to all the participants to exchange their views, organized in two rounds on two related topics: Round 1: What are the biggest challenges – list the top 3 challenges, for cities to incorporate “green” and “blue” infrastructure into grey infrastructure?  Round 2: What are the key “ingredients” for making this shift successful, including what support is needed for cities   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	Interventions by organizations UNEP, ICLEI, C40, WRI, IFLA, AIPH Discussion with cities: With many initiatives around the world, from the perspectives of cities, what would be an efficient way to channel the support to 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	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 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. 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 Carlos Sarabia, Director, Barranquilla, Colombia Maria Camila Uribe, Principal Lead, IDB IFC Closing Reflections Moderated by Upasana Varma, Principal Investment Officer, IFC

15:50-16:00	Next Step: Urban Nature Program, Xueman Wang, GPSC Program Manager Closing Remarks: Ming Zhang, Global Director, Urban, Resilience and Land, World Bank