GEF’s 2020 strategy emphasizes support for the transformational change needed to create environmental impacts on a broad scale; more specifically, it supports broad coalitions of committed stakeholders and focuses on scalable activities. Beginning in 2015, the GEF-6 Sustainable Cities program has promoted integrated approaches that address distinct, time-bound global environmental challenges. Urbanization has played a central role in the world’s economic growth, but it has also caused environmental degradation. The Sustainable Cities program provides policy and governance support to facilitate integrated urban planning, management, and financing that leads to sustainable and resilient development and sound ecosystem management.
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Urban Sustainability Framework
The Urban Sustainability Framework (USF) is a practical tool developed by the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities (GPSC) to help cities plan, finance, and implement integrated sustainability strategies. Designed for policymakers and practitioners, the USF supports cities in moving beyond sector-by-sector planning toward a holistic approach that balances economic growth, environmental stewardship, and social inclusion. At its core, the USF helps cities answer three fundamental questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How do we get
By 2050, almost two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities, which already consume most of the world’s energy and emit the majority of greenhouse gases. This makes urban areas central to both the causes of climate change and the solutions. The white paper argues that decarbonizing cities is not only environmental policy, but a strategic industrial agenda. It introduces the “city-industry-climate nexus,” where infrastructure, production systems, value chains, and climate action converge. Cities host the industries that supply
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