Looking at more than 350 urban leaders and experts gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum, Dr. Cromwel Lukorito, Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, issued a simple yet profound reminder of our collective power to shape the cities of the future: “The solution lies in our hands. We cannot look for a solution elsewhere.” 

African cities will double in population over the next few decades. It is no exaggeration to say that people working now to advance sustainable and resilient urban planning hold both enormous responsibility and potential. African cities, already facing threats of climate change, must work urgently to build resilience now and into the future. And, with 70% of the African population currently under the age of 30, there is both profound urgency and momentum to secure a sustainable and thriving future for generations to come. 

Over the course of a week, the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum, hosted by C40 Cities, reflected and catalyzed this energy. “We need to deliver infrastructure solutions at a pace that matches our ambition to safeguard our future,” said Mayor of Freetown and C40 Co-Chair Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr. “Our future depends on us. Investing in Africa is investing in a more stable, prosperous and climate-resilient future for all.”

Wanjira Mathai, WRI’s Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships, outlined three essential shifts that cities and the people who steward them must make now to ensure resilience: “We need a mindset shift that reveres nature and the role it plays in our cities; we need a policy shift that prioritizes long-term resilience over transient goals; and we need a finance shift that prioritizes innovation and sustainable investment.”  

One clear and imperative need emerged over the course of the Forum: increased cross-sectoral and cross-governmental collaboration. With so many leaders from across global and African governments, civil society, research and financial institutions, the Forum represented a microcosm of the partnerships needed to bring about a more resilient future for all.  

Accelerating Sustainable and Innovative Finance 

The Forum made clear the undeniable need to transform African cities now and ensure that future development unfolds sustainably and equitably. But this essential work is not possible without a fundamental shift in financial support for urban climate action. 

One statistic underscored much of the urgency in the Forum’s discussions: sub-Saharan African cities currently receive just 4% of the $155 billion they need annually to implement climate action projects. “There is no room for inaction,” said Mayor Aki-Sawyerr. “We need to find a solution to our climate financing gap.” 

Over the course of the Forum, solutions materialized. With all eyes on the potential of African cities, 23 local leaders from across the continent issued a powerful open letter to African Ministers of Finance, calling for urgent and collaborative action to unlock the finance needed to drive sustainable and resilient urban development. The three-part action plan to catalyze transformation calls for mainstreaming urban climate and nature priorities into national budgets and plans, creating new and robust frameworks for municipal climate finance and expanding access to sustainable finance.  

As this call to action rung out during the Forum, UrbanShift, C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors introduced the Sustainable Finance Action and Advocacy Roadmap for Global South Cities. This guide offers city leaders evidence-backed insights, policy recommendations and tools to attract climate action investments in their cities. Dr. George Kararach, Lead Economist for the African Development Bank, noted that it’s time for investment into cities to reflect their contribution to economic and planetary vitality. 

Putting the above into action, UrbanShift hosted the Investors Roundtable on Clean Energy, reaffirming the value of incorporating early-stage feedback in urban project development. Financiers from 10 banks and investment firms provided detailed feedback to nine cities on early-stage projects, ranging from a 100-megawatt floating solar project in Lagos to a hospital solar project in Mombasa.

Integrating Nature for Climate Action

A key challenge for African cities is remedying their relationship with nature. For too long, urban development has unfolded at the expense of natural ecosystems and urban green space. The continent’s rich biodiversity is eroding and nature loss within cities is exacerbating climate risks, from flooding to extreme heat.  

Amid these challenges, investing in nature is more important than ever. “Nature remains a source of freedom and healing,” said Mathai. Not only can restoring natural ecosystems within and around cities strengthen biodiversity and help mitigate climate risks, but it can also generate economic potential for cities. Globally, every dollar invested in nature-based solutions can create an over twenty-fold return on investment, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “Integrating green infrastructure with grey infrastructure creates long-term economic value, versus an immediate financial return,” said Mirey Atallah of UNEP. “But we have data that demonstrates that long term economic saving works.”  

The Forum offered participants tangible case studies and actions to bolster nature-based solutions in cities. In a workshop, WRI and Cities4Forests explored findings from a new assessment of nature-based solutions in sub-Saharan Africa that point to opportunities to further scale green infrastructure throughout the region. 

Zoubida Lamchammar, Deputy Mayor of Marrakech, shared how, with UrbanShift’s support, the city is developing a framework to strengthen urban green spaces as it expands. “It is crucial for cities to recognize and develop policies around the role of biodiversity in maintaining ecological balance,” Lamchammar said. Adding that “healthy ecosystems provide vital services such as air and water purification, soil fertility and climate regulation.” As cities search for ways to support greening efforts, Marrakech is highlighting how cities can develop eco-tourism strategies that promote greater awareness of the role of nature and generate new revenue streams.  

Engaging Youth in Planning and Innovation 

Young people are the present and future of African cities. The Forum both catalyzed the energy and potential of youth-led and -involved initiatives—and made clear the stakes of failing to act now to secure a resilient future.  

“Africa is a young continent,” said Nairobi City County Governor Sakaja Arthur Johnson. “All of our interventions must speak to this generation and focus on green jobs for young people. They need to see hope and dividends from our climate actions.” 

Dr. Nasiphi Moya, Executive Mayor of Tshwane, shared how her city is using social media and consistent outreach to bring young people into discussions about the city’s future. “You have to actually ask young people: what do you want your home to look like?” City leaders need to actively open up opportunities for young people to engage in shaping their future.  

A joint session of Urbanshift’s City Academy courses on “Green and Thriving Neighbourhoods” and “Accommodating Urban Growth” hosted during the Forum highlighted how concerted outreach and engagement efforts that center young people can strengthen the urban fabric of cities. Joy Mboya, Executive Director of the GoDown Arts Centre, told participants how 10 years ago, what is now the thriving arts center was just an empty warehouse on a stretch of Dunga Road in Nairobi. Over the last three years, GoDown Arts Centre worked with the community to redesign the street and is now contributing to the development of a cultural district around the area. “We can create momentum and buy-in by staying very close to people and what they want, and by continuously and consistently integrating that into our thinking and planning,” Mboya said. 

Cecily Mbarire, Governor of Embu County, Kenya, shared how the local government secured funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Youth Climate Action Fund, which supports young people to engage in hydroponic farming projects, solarization of classrooms and markets, and career training. As UrbanShift’s City Academy course on “Circular Economy Strategies” illuminated, new market and career opportunities emerging as cities embrace a circular approach—from green building materials to textile recycling—can ensure that young people are empowered and welcomed into pathways to expand these industries. 

Fostering Partnerships for Transformation

For climate-aware and inclusive planning to take root and grow across African cities, stronger partnerships across multiple levels of government and across sectors are essential. With cities at the forefront of climate action, national governments must commit to actions and collaborations that strengthen local resilience efforts, said Asma Jhina of Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. 

Recently, global mayors issued a unified call for an annual investment of $800 billion for local climate action. The path to achieving this goal is steep, but during an inspiring session on the Coalition for High-Ambition Multi-Level Partnerships (CHAMP), leaders came together to identify challenges and opportunities to accelerate progress. Already, 15 African countries have signed onto CHAMP as a means of enhancing local-level climate action with the support of national governments. With this collaboration, Jhina said, local and national governments have an opportunity to align strategies that address both local and broader environmental issues, while sharing knowledge, resources and technologies across levels of government to enhance capacity and effectiveness in combatting climate change. 

The private sector has a role to play, too. The C40 Cities-led City-Business Climate Alliance Workshop united representatives from businesses and local governments to exchange ideas on reducing emissions, adapting to climate risks and creating green jobs for residents. Sammy Schileche, Assistant Director at the Urban Planning and Development Department of Nairobi City County Government, shared how Nairobi is working to bring corporate partners into climate planning processes. “If a company wants to build a walkway or a public space in the city, they can fund it and we can work together to make sure it’s meeting climate action goals,” he said.

With so much transformation on the horizon for African cities, the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum highlighted what collaborative planning and action looks like: For a whole week, representatives from across levels of governments and sectors engaged with one another, shared ideas and solutions, and committed to learning new skills and insights around the collective goal of accelerating urban climate action. 

The message from the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum is clear: The future of our cities is in our hands. By acting together, we can ensure our cities grow in a way that supports the well-being of our people and our planet. 

A version of this article originally appeared on ShiftCities.org.

Eillie Anzilotti is Urban Development Communications Manager & Communications Lead for UrbanShift at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

Jessy Appavoo is UrbanShift Head & Regional Coordinator for Africa at C40 Cities.