The Urban 20 (U20), a G20 Engagement Group which focuses on raising urban issues at the G20 panel is reportedly working to set up a first-of-its-kind Global Urban Resilience Fund to support cities across the globe to engage in sustainable and unbiased recovery from the COVID-19.
The Fund was conceived on the basis of the U20 Special Working Group (SWG) finding on COVID-19.
Fahd Al-Rasheed President Royal Commission Riyadh City
“We have the opportunity right now to learn from the impact of COVID-19, to study how to build cities that are more resilient and agile. The cities of the U20 have taken the lead to develop a fund for city action to combat the pandemic and mitigate future urban shocks. The goal of the fund is to accelerate the transmission of new learning and ideas for a more secure future for all urban residents.”
Mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi commented, “The challenge of our times is the fight against the pandemic. A struggle that is not only a challenge to restore the best health conditions; but, more, it is remedying the economic consequences of the pandemic. Cities cannot tackle this alone: solid support from states is needed, but, at the same time, it is necessary to pool resources and create new tools. The Global Urban Resilient Fund represents an intelligent way to meet these needs, and the commitment of the next Italian U20 Presidency will be to carry this forward and make it concrete.”
The U20 is currently working to define the details and modalities of the Fund which will be announced by the end of the year.
The Urban 20 (U20)
Launched in 2017 under the leadership of Mayor Hidalgo of Paris and Mayor Larreta of Buenos Aires, the Urban 20 (U20) was created to provide the opportunity for cities to engage in the G20.
The forum facilitates long-term engagement between the G20 and cities while it provides a stage to discuss urban issues in the G20. It focuses on climate change and the nexus with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is convened by C40 Cities in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).
