For the first time, the world’s cities are seeking more than $100 billion to build a climate-resilient future, according to new data from the CDP. Yet, while ambition is scaling rapidly, the funding to bring those projects to life is still lagging far behind.
The 2025 Global Snapshot, developed by CDP – the world’s independent disclosure platform – in partnership with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, contains fresh analysis of the 2,164 projects disclosed through the CDP-ICLEI Track, by 507 cities in 62 countries, as of 2025 (data from 2025 referenced here is as of October 1, 2025. CDP’s 2025 disclosure cycle for cities has not yet closed, with disclosure through CDP-ICLEI Track still possible until November 19, 2025.).
As the COP30 Local Leaders Forum commenced in Rio de Janeiro, the snapshot reveals that the amount required to fund urban climate infrastructure projects has increased from $86 billion in 2024 to $105 billion in 2025, representing a significant 22% rise.
The top sectors by number of projects in 2025 are buildings and energy efficiency (420), followed by green infrastructure (338) and transport (336). Examples of such projects include Porto’s Transport Fleet Modernisation Project, which aims for 43% of the Portuguese city’s buses to be electric by the end of 2027; and Buenos Aires’ Community Distributed Generation initiative, which aims to harness 10% of the capital of Argentina’s solar energy potential, reach around 25,000 users, and cut 217,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.
Behind this progress, though, the data tells a sobering story. For example, 87% of projects are seeking financing. Of these, half (49%) have yet to secure any form of financing. A greater proportion of projects in emerging markets require full financing. That is 40% compared to 22% in developed economies. Additionally, just seven per cent of projects that indicated a financing model are seeking finance strictly from private sources and nearly half of all projects are in the early stages of development, with many still at the initial scoping phase.
Investment demand is also highly concentrated, with developed economies accounting for 83% of total reported needs. The United States (44%) and the United Kingdom (23%) lead this segment, despite emerging-market cities representing 40% of all projects.
CDP’s companion report, Protected Places, highlights how a lack of finance keeps many local climate plans from reaching operation. In India, only 5% of planned climate actions are fully implemented, compared to 75% in Japan and 86 % in China. Latin America and Africa show only 23% and 31% of actions in operation, respectively.
Meanwhile, CDP’s analysis of nearly 5,000 projects (4,979) worth $266 billion in total and disclosed by over 1,000 cities (1,066) in 100 countries between 2020 and 2024 reported to CDP-ICLEI Track, shows nature-based projects – covering biodiversity, water resilience, and urban green spaces, have seen the largest growth, rising from 7% of projects (79) in 2020 to 15% (377) in 2024.
Despite record investment demand, the disclosed $105 billion represents only a fraction of what is truly required. Cities worldwide require about $4.5 trillion annually to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Yet, less than 10% of total global climate finance currently reaches local governments. Without direct city access, the world’s climate goals remain out of reach.
Ahead of COP30, CDP, GCoM, and other partners are calling for cities to be fully empowered to achieve their climate goals.
Katie Walsh, CDP Head of City Climate Finance, explained that cities, their people and businesses sit on the front line of climate change.
“Our latest Snapshot reveals both the size of their response and the glaring scale of the investment needed, now topping $100 billion for the first time. The financing tap for cities, especially in developing economies, must be fully opened to turn plans on paper into projects on the ground, creating jobs, fairer prosperity and healthier communities,” Walsh stated.
Walsh also mentioned that by having a seat at the table in national planning processes, better access to global financing, and strengthening collaboration across government, cities can play their part in delivering Earth-positive results for businesses, people and the planet.
Asma Jhina, Senior Advisor (Urban Climate Finance and Inclusive Action) at GCoM, noted that the gap between city climate ambitions and critical finance remains stark, with global cities reporting a 22% increase in required funding compared to 2024, reaching over $100 billion for the first time. According to Jhina, the 2025 Snapshot highlights that almost half of the more than 2,000 projects disclosed are unfunded, and it shows worrying disparities in available finance between developed economies and emerging market and developing economies.
Jhina said, “Cities around the world are stepping up to tackle climate change, but they cannot do it alone. Urgent access to critical funding is essential to deliver on their ambitious climate action plans.”
