Accessing Financing for City Climate Leadership on the Road to COP28

The City of Buenos Aires Capstone aims to strategically enhance Buenos Aires’ ability to access critical climate finance as it advances towards its 2050 carbon neutrality goal. Faced with the complex challenges of persistent high inflation, fiscal deficits, and no access to international capital markets, Argentina’s capital must navigate a dynamic financial landscape to support its ambitious climate goals effectively.

The Capstone team developed a Decision-Making Framework for Climate Finance designed to strengthen the city’s ability to identify and evaluate the existing climate finance opportunities, based on their level of accessibility and their alignment with the city’s climate priorities in the waste, energy, transport, and adaptation sectors. By taxonomizing potential funding mechanisms and analyzing their suitability, the Framework is a strategic tool that will help Buenos Aires optimize its approach to securing international climate finance while enhancing the coordination between city officials undertaking this task. The team also explored the innovative financial instrument of green bonds and outlined recommendations on how Buenos Aires can leverage their potential to mobilize more private capital based on best practices offered by other Argentinian cities. Finally, the team developed a communication strategy for the city to reinforce its narrative when seeking financing from international investors. Ultimately, with these tailored and actionable strategies, the outcome of this project  provides Buenos Aires with the tools to overcome the barriers to climate finance, while strengthening its position as a global leader in urban climate resilience.