Cities Disclose 5,600 Climate Projects Worth US$166 Billion

Over 1,100 cities across 102 countries have disclosed more than 5,600 unique climate projects through the CDP-ICLEI Track platform, representing US$166 billion in investment opportunities. The data, spanning 2020 to 2024, underscores a widening gap between city climate ambition and available finance, with annual urban climate needs estimated at US$4.5 trillion.

A global snapshot developed with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy draws on CDP-ICLEI public data from over 1,100 disclosing cities, representing 20% of the world's urban population. Between 2020 and October 2025, cities across 102 countries disclosed climate projects presenting US$166 billion in investment opportunities. Early 2025 figures already show 507 cities across 62 countries reporting 2,164 projects worth US$173 billion in total value, with total finance demand already up 22% compared to 2024.

Despite clear city leadership, urban climate finance flows remain far below the US$4.5 trillion needed annually for mitigation and adaptation. Mayors and urban leaders have called on national governments and development finance institutions to increase public investment for urban climate finance to a minimum of US$800 billion annually by 2030. Cities in emerging markets and developing economies face significant barriers, including poor creditworthiness, underdeveloped capital markets, and limited capacity to structure viable projects. Domestic public financing dominates, with 59% of projects seeking or securing funds from municipal or national government sources.

Ahead of COP30, the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP), now comprising 77 countries since its launch at COP28 in December 2023, is central to aligning subnational climate actions with national determined contributions. In 2025, 400 cities from 37 CHAMP-endorser countries reported 1,801 projects representing more than 80% of all reported investment needs at approximately US$92 billion. CDP and partners call for accelerated project preparation assistance, aggregation of smaller projects, and stronger multilevel governance to unlock private sector investment at scale.

Key figure — US$166 billion