Financing Urban Regeneration for Climate Neutrality and Resilience

Climate neutrality and resilience are becoming central priorities for urban regeneration, calling for innovative financing solutions that can support long-term investments and mobilise private capital. Against a backdrop of growing climate risks and constrained public budgets, effective financing instruments are essential to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities.

The SUR Lab annual workshop explored how financing instruments can support climate mitigation and adaptation measures in urban regeneration projects, while addressing their key enabling conditions and barriers that still limit their broader uptake. A key moment of the event was the presentation of SUR Lab’s annual Position Paper, “Financing instruments for climate neutrality and resilience in urban regeneration projects: evidence and perspectives.” The paper maps and analyses financing instruments applicable to urban regeneration, focusing on governance models, repayment mechanisms, enabling conditions and implementation barriers.

The analysis shows that mitigation projects, often associated with measurable revenues or cost savings, are generally more attractive to private finance through instruments such as green bondsand green loans. Adaptation measures, by contrast, typically require stronger public support and risk-sharing mechanisms, due to longer investment horizons and less direct financial returns. The paper also highlights key recommendations, including greater standardisation, improved climate impact measurement, stronger technical capacity and better integration of climate indicators into financing decisions.

The workshop also discussed how cities are addressing climate neutrality through innovative governance models like the Climate City Contract under EU Mission Cities, and the role of European financial institutions, public development actors, real estate operators and private investors in supporting climate-oriented urban regeneration. Across the discussion, speakers stressed that scaling climate finance requires combining multiple instruments, building bankable project pipelines, improving technical assistance and strengthening cooperation between public authorities, financial institutions and private operators.

The Position Paper is available on the SUR Lab website.

Workshop keynote speakers
Edoardo Croci – Director, SUR Lab, Bocconi University
Tania Molteni – Research Fellow, SUR Lab, Bocconi University
Anna Lisa Boni – Councillor for International Relations, European Funds and Climate Mission, City of Bologna
Andrea Colantonio – Lead Economist, Urban Development, European Investment Bank
Alessandro Busci – Head of Fund Management, Prelios SGR
Massimiliano Pulice – Head of Urban Regeneration, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti
Raoul Ravara – Senior Managing Director & Country Head Italy, Hines

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