Promoting climate-friendly urban development in intermediate cities

Context

Ecuador has the second highest per capita urban growth rate in the Latin American region, especially in medium-sized cities. In many places, this rapid urban growth has led to social inequality, high resource consumption and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Ecuador has created a policy framework to steer growth. This includes the first public urban policy (PUN), Ecuador’s 2036 agenda for sustainable urban development (AHSE), the first agenda for applied urban research (AIUA) and the national climate finance strategy (EFIC).

Thanks to the project, the cities of Ambato, Cuenca, Lago Agrio, Latacunga, Loja and Portoviejo have made progress in climate-friendly urban development. For AHSE 2036, however, they need to align their actions to a greater extent with national rules, develop future-oriented projects and thus improve their access to climate finance.

Objective

National and local government institutions implement measurable contributions to AHSE 2036 and to mitigate climate change in urban areas.

Approach

The project supports the national and local governments in improving access to climate finance – an important component of which is the annual ideas competition for climate finance projects. Furthermore, six pilot cities are receiving technical support to plan measures for climate-friendly and social urban development and obtain climate finance more easily. In addition, the project is setting up a system to measure progress made towards achieving AHSE 2036 and the national climate targets.

The project operates in three fields of activity:

1. It promotes cooperation between cities on national urban development policy and mobilises climate finance for economic recovery (green recovery).
2. It advises Ambato, Cuenca, Lago Agrio, Latacunga, Loja and Portoviejo on developing investment projects and on financing and implementing specific measures.
3. Moreover, knowledge exchange at events between cities and local or national stakeholders improves the understanding of social urban development and climate protection.

Last update: September 2023