C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) brought together city representatives and financial experts to explore financing opportunities for municipal solid waste initiatives
On March 11–12, more than 70 participants – including city representatives, national authorities, technical experts and financial institutions – gathered in New Delhi, India, for the Financing Waste in Indian Cities workshop. The two-day event aimed to facilitate cities’ access to best practices, discussions surrounding the key challenges and opportunities for the waste sector and financial knowledge with leading experts on municipal solid waste to make cities cleaner, greener, healthier and more resilient in the delivery of Swachh Bharat Mission. The initiative was led by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM).
The workshop convened representatives from 11 Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Indore; the national government; and international financiers such as the World Bank, AFD, KfW, and other bilateral and local finance providers.
According to Shruti Narayan, Managing Director for Regions and Mayoral Engagement at C40 Cities, fostering direct engagement and knowledge sharing is the way to equip cities with the tools needed to develop and implement their green projects.
“We’re taking critical steps toward facilitating strategic partnerships between cities, financial institutions and government agencies, with the key mission to accelerate investment in sustainable waste management solutions across India. Our goal is to empower local governments to secure vital funding for their projects through ongoing collaboration and strategic alliances, paving the way for real, transformative impact on communities and the environment.”
During the workshop, cities engaged in technical sessions underscoring the importance of data in the sector, the challenges in collecting relevant and accurate data, and the opportunities for cities to improve their waste management through measurement and data as a tool for decision-making. Moreover, through a series of deep dives, cities explored India’s waste management landscape including collection, diversion & treatment, and disposal. The technical sessions on the operational and infrastructure good practices set the context for cities to then discuss and better understand the available financial support and how to access it. Four cities presented their priority waste projects and received feedback from financial institutions to understand what makes waste projects bankable from an investor’s perspective.
The Nodal Officer for Sustainable Projects of the City of Thiruvananthapuram, Nanthu GH, highlighted the importance of the workshop in a time of urgency for developing sustainable projects that enhance the quality of waste management in cities and, by doing so, its citizens’ quality of life.
“We had here a clear idea about how the quantity of waste is increasing, and how it is to be managed with great examples from all over the world. The comments from the experts and financiers opened a great vision and opportunity to various cities and it will definitely reflect in the future planning and activities of waste management in each and every city that participated in the event”.
Financial institution representatives shared their experiences with waste management projects and outlined the types of projects they consider financially viable. They also engaged in direct discussions with urban waste management officials about their project pipelines and city priorities in this sector. Over the course of the event, cities had the opportunity to exchange ideas not only with financiers but also among themselves, with follow-up bilaterals planned for the coming weeks and months.