UK Cities Climate Investment Commission Report

Background 

The UK Cities Climate Investment Commission (UKCCIC) was established as an initiative in July 2021 between the Connected Places Catapult, Core Cities UK, and London Councils collectively covering the UK’s 12 largest cities.   

City leaders have been in the vanguard of taking action against the damaging impacts of climate change. In the UK, local partnerships have been formed around 'climate emergencies’, identifying and implementing programmes of work. Such programmes are becoming more integrated within city economic recovery plans, in recognition that the green economy will both produce some of the quickest impacts and achieve the most long-lasting benefits. 

Despite this heightened activity, the investment case for Net Zero pathways for cities remains poorly developed. The barriers to investment lie not in the gross availability of finance, but rather the ability to create robust business cases and investment models, that address issues of scale, longevity and confidence. Through dialogue with the investment community, it is clear such business cases will be strengthened where the plans of cities can be brought together, generating greater scale, volume, and predictability, thereby creating a more attractive and substantial proposition for investors. 

Purpose  

The UKCCIC was created to address this deficit head-on. By aggregating the low carbon investment plans across all of the UK’s largest cities, estimated at a value of £206 billion, we are creating an offer which is attracting significant interest from private sector sources of finance. We have developed a concept of blended finance to drive investment across six different asset classes in cities, which will aggregate financing to provide funding for Net Zero across all sectors. 

This novel approach will be detailed in our report, showcasing the opportunity for private investment in Net Zero initiatives across UK Cities.