U20 launches new fund to help cities invest in sustainable recovery

The engagement group of the G20 created the fund to help cities that are not financially able to build resilient infrastructure following the pandemic

Fahd Al-Rasheed, President of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and U20 chair. The Urban 20 (U20), a G20 Engagement Group, will create a Global Urban Resilience Fund, the first fund of its type developed by cities, for cities.Show less

The Urban 20 (U20), the engagement arm of G20, has created the Global Resilience Fund to help cities invest in a green and equitable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in an effort to build back better from the global health crisis.

The fund came as a result of findings by the U20 Special Working Group on Covid-19, which gathered 32 case studies and surveyed 21 cities covering a population size of over 75 million, according to a U20 statement on Saturday. The group recommended creating the fund to help cities that are not financially able to respond or build resilient infrastructure of the required size.

"The cities of the U20 have taken the lead to develop a fund for city action to combat the pandemic and mitigate future urban shocks," Fahd Al-Rasheed, president of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and U20 chair, said. "The goal of the fund is to accelerate the transmission of new learning and ideas for a more secure future for all urban residents.”

The pandemic is the worst crisis to hit the global economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The global outbreak has hampered international trade, paralysed air travel, disrupted supply chains and stretched the capacity of healthcare systems.

The Global Urban Resilience Fund is shared and accessible for cities and governed by cities.

Among its goals are to provide agile disaster response financing for cities for effective, transparent and rapid emergency actions. It also aims to provide access to critical infrastructure investments that increase the resilience of cities. The fund will also provide financial instruments, including grants and loans, to cities while offering new opportunities for investors.

Ultimately, its aim is to unlock new financial instruments and funding mechanisms for cities currently unavailable through international finance architecture.

"The recovery should not be a return to business as usual," according to communique by the U20. "Instead, investments must improve the welfare and resilience of our cities and communities, by addressing solidarity, re-investing in public health, and mitigating future threats, like the climate crisis."

Climate action and preserving biodiversity can help accelerate economic recovery and improve equity through new technologies and the creation of green jobs, which will have wider benefits for people and businesses, the U20 said.

The group urged G20 leaders to work with it by investing in a green and just Covid-19 recovery, protect the environment through national and local collaboration, accelerate the transition to a circular carbon-neutral economy and empower people to deliver a more inclusive future.

The U20 is currently working to define the details of the fund, which will be announced by the end of the year, according to the statement.

The U20 issues recommendations for consideration by the G20. For 2020, Riyadh is the Chair city and host of the annual Mayors Summit.