Green Cities
Over two-thirds of global population are forecast to live in urban areas by 2050. The implications of this phenomenon are significant. Many of the world’s cities are urbanizing in a largely unplanned manner, which has high negative externalities including poor air quality, infrastructure that is not climate resilient, inadequate provisioning of basic services and a lack of social inclusion and opportunity. Cities have a vital role to play in transitioning from resource inefficient patterns of growth and increasing access to services, and in so doing, supporting the transition to green growth.
Greening cities provides opportunities to create sustainable livelihoods through providing green jobs, reducing GHG emissions, and increasing access to sustainable infrastructure and services.
GGGI’s thematic approach to green cities supports an integrated and cross-sectoral approach and responds to local, national, and global needs and commitments, through its five priority areas, namely:
1. Mainstreaming green growth into urban planning and management;
2. Resource efficient and low carbon cities;
3. Solid waste management: managing waste as resource;
4. Decentralized sanitation and wastewater solutions;
5. Sustainable transportation and mobility: connected and healthy cities.
GGGI aims to address these gaps through responding to demand in policy development at the national and municipal level, with a focus on supporting secondary and emerging cities. To support the change that is needed for urban transformation, we link project ideation to finance and build capacity which both enhances understanding of green growth in relation to cities, but also acts as a platform for identifying innovative projects for implementation. In doing so, GGGI strives to realize pro-poor, smart and inclusive cities in which sustainable urban services and green jobs are created to address the unmet needs of under-serviced and urban poor communities.
Projects
News
News • April 15, 2026
Ecuador wins Environmental Finance’s 2026 Sustainable Debt Award for Best Social Loan of the Year
[Encuentre la versión en español abajo] Quito, Ecuador, April 14, 2026 – The Government of Ecuador has earned global recognition for a world first: a sovereign loan that simultaneously integrates […]
News • April 15, 2026
Bogotá’s Green Bond wins Environmental Finance’s Sustainable Debt Award 2026 as the best green bond issued by a local authority
[Encuentre la versión en español abajo] Bogotá, D.C., Colombia, April 14, 2026 – The City of Bogotá celebrates the recognition by Environmental Finance with the Green Bond of the Year […]
News • January 31, 2026
GGGI and AFD Advance Collaboration to Further Promote Resilient, Green and Affordable Housing Across the Eastern Caribbean
Castries, Saint Lucia, January 30, 2026 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Agence française de développement (AFD) have signed a new grant agreement to further advance a […]
News • January 21, 2026
Ecuador secures landmark USD 500 million transaction for affordable and climate-resilient housing
[Encuentre la versión en español abajo] Quito, Ecuador, January 20, 2026 – The Government of Ecuador has successfully secured a USD 500 million loan to expand access to affordable and climate-resilient […]
News • December 12, 2025
Indonesia Strengthens Its Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Through Insights from Korea
Seoul, South Korea, December 11, 2025 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), with support from the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment of Korea (MCEE), is facilitating a five-day capacity-building benchmark tour for Indonesian Government partners to the Republic of Korea (ROK). […]
News • December 6, 2025
GGGI Ethiopia Benchmarks Dakar’s Pioneering electric BRT to Accelerate Green Mobility in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa/Dakar, Ethiopia, December 5, 2025 – A high impact technical delegation from the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Ethiopia, led by Deputy Country Representative Lucy Atim, successfully completed an […]
News • November 10, 2025
Grenada and GGGI Enhance Partnership to Advance Resilient, Green, and Affordable Housing Solutions
CASTRIES, SAINT LUCIA, November 10, 2025 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Government of Grenada have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration in scaling up […]
News • November 7, 2025
Bogotá Leads Latin America: First City to Issue an International Green Bond with Support from the European Union and GGGI under the Global Green Bond Initiative
[Encuentre la versión en español abajo] Bogotá, Colombia, November 6, 2025 – The Mayorship of Bogotá, through the District Secretariat of Finance, successfully carried out the first international issuance of […]
News • September 15, 2025
GGGI Wraps Up Strategic Engagement at ACS2, Driving Climate Finance and Green Growth Partnerships
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – September 15, 2025 – The curtains have closed on the 2nd Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, but the momentum it generated for Africa’s green […]
News • August 28, 2025
Viet Nam advances sustainable urban cooling, expanding climate-smart solutions in cities
Ha Noi, 28 August 2025 — The Department of Climate Change (DCC), Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) […]
News • August 28, 2025
Opportunities for Scaling-Up Resilient, Green, and Affordable Housing in the Eastern Caribbean
The Eastern Caribbean is vulnerable to the escalating impacts of climate change. As Small Island Developing States (SIDS), countries in the region face extreme weather events such as hurricanes, coastal […]
News • August 27, 2025
Kerala Hosts Building Registry, BEAT Demonstration for Low-Carbon Building Solutions under GGGI’s ALCBT Project
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, 27 August 2025 – In a major step toward advancing Kerala’s decarbonization agenda, the Global Green Growth Insitute (GGGI), together with the Energy Management Centre (EMC) and the State Designated Agency (SDA), Government of Kerala, hosted a […]
News • July 28, 2025
Lao Officials Explore Bangkok’s Urban Nature-Based Solutions Through NATURA Project Exchange
Bangkok, Thailand – June 23-27, 2025 – Lao government officials recently visited Bangkok to learn about building greener, more resilient cities. This study tour was part of the Nature-Based Solutions […]
News • June 27, 2025
GGGI ALCBT Project Launches Groundbreaking Building Emission Assessment Tool (BEAT) to Transform Construction Sector
New Web-Based Platform Set to Revolutionize Whole Life Carbon Assessment Across Asia GLOBAL, June 24, 2025 – The Asia Low Carbon Buildings Transition (ALCBT) Project, together with the Global Cement […]
News • May 19, 2025
Nuevo León State Government Deploys 20 new e-buses, enhancing clean transport solutions thanks to GGGI’s technical assistance
(SPANISH VERSIÓN BELOW) MONTERREY, NUEVO LEÓN, MAY 14, 2025 – The Government of Nuevo León launched the new Transmetro route covering Garza Sada Avenue and Carretera Nacional, with the deployment […]
News • May 14, 2025
Uzbekistan Adopts New Law on Strategic Environmental Assessment with Support from GGGI
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 2025 — The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Uzbekistan contributed to the development of Uzbekistan’s new Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) law, which will enter into force on August […]
News • April 26, 2025
An Industry Present in the Challenges of the Future: How Chihuahua is investing in the (re)design of its industrial parks
(SPANISH VERSION BELOW) Paloma Centeno, an industrial architect, recalls that she was pregnant when the water supply in her city suffered a week-long cut, due to the drought that affected […]
News • April 17, 2025
Driving Low-Carbon Transition: GGGI and BOMA Indonesia Advance Net-Zero Commercial Buildings
Jakarta, Indonesia, April 17, 2025 – Over 200 stakeholders, including government officials, industry leaders, building professionals, and private companies, gathered in Jakarta for a national seminar aimed at raising awareness […]
News • February 27, 2025
GGGI and Bappenas to mobilize investments for Indonesia’s sustainable plastic management
Jakarta, Indonesia, February 27, 2025 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) initiated a new collaboration with the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) on sustainable plastics management. According to […]
News • February 12, 2025
Strengthening Low Carbon Building Expertise in Cambodia through Training of Trainers
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 12 February 2025 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) organized a two-day Training of Trainers (TOT) on Low […]