May 27, 2025
Web

Representatives of the Association EPEKA, Soc. Ent., will participate in a round table on ‘Promoting natural solutions through innovative resilience financing: exploring financing mechanisms for cities and settlements’.

This innovation lab, organised by the Green Cities Partnership and ICLEI Europe in collaboration with the NATURANCE project, brings together financial institutions and cities to explore current barriers and enabling conditions for investing in nature-based solutions (NbS), green infrastructure and biodiversity measures.

The round table will feature Kelly Baldwin Heid (biodiversity and NbS expert at ICLEI Europe), Etienne Aulotte (Bruxelles Environnement and Greening Cities Partnership), Eileen Crowley (Greening Cities Partnership), Ana-Maria Mitroi-Ciobîcă (Senior Urban Expert at the European Investment Bank) and the cities of Budapest, Gdańsk and Utrecht.

This roundtable will build on the results of two recent Green Cities Partnership studies – one targeting local authorities and the other the financial sector – to understand the key barriers and enablers for financing green infrastructure in cities. Participants will examine administrative and financial challenges, including fragmented funding streams and a lack of tailored investment tools, while identifying practical strategies and innovations to overcome them. Case studies from Budapest, Gdańsk and Utrecht will illustrate existing financing mechanisms and solutions led by cities.

As the first of three innovation labs, this session aims to stimulate cross-sectoral dialogue and foster strategic recommendations for better alignment of financial strategies at EU and national level with city resilience objectives. Through interactive discussions, cities and financial actors will jointly develop solutions and explore simplified pathways for cooperation.