City2City
Freetown in Focus: Engaging the Private Sector on Nature-Based Solutions
Join us as we kick off the UrbanShift webinar series with a conversation between experts from C40 Cities and Freetown, Sierra Leone, on engaging businesses to implement nature-based solutions in urban environments. We'll hear of best practices and examples of city-business collaboration on NBS and learn about the benefits, challenges and opportunities created from private sector engagement in Freetown's tree planting campaign.

Freetown in Focus: Engaging the Private Sector on Nature-Based Solutions

Date and Time: October 27, 2021 | 9:00–10:00 Eastern Standard Time (EST) | 13:00–14:00 GMT

Bringing nature back to cities is critical for reducing emissions, cooling temperatures, preventing flooding and landslides as well as improving the health and wellbeing of urban citizens. But funding nature-based solutions (NBS) can be a tricky task for cities.

Join us as we kick off the UrbanShift webinar series with a conversation between experts from C40 Cities and Freetown, Sierra Leone, on engaging businesses to implement nature-based solutions in urban environments. We'll hear of best practices and examples of city-business collaboration on NBS and learn about the benefits, challenges and opportunities created from private sector engagement in Freetown's tree planting campaign.

Register here: https://wri.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Eow0nMuoQZG2E5pH2xCofw

Transforming Cities for People and Planet through Integrated Urban Development: Launch of UrbanShift
How can integrated planning approaches tackle complex urban challenges to ensure a resilient, livable future for all? Join us on September 21 during Climate Week NYC to discuss this pressing question.

Transforming Cities for People and Planet through Integrated Urban Development: Launch of UrbanShift

Date: September 21, 2021

Time: San José: 6:00 | New York: 8:00 | Buenos Aires: 9:00 | Freetown: 12:00 | Rabat: 13:00 | Central Europe: 14:00 | New Delhi: 17:30 | Jakarta: 19:00 | Beijing: 20:00

Languages: English, Español, Português, Français, Bahasa Indonesia, 中文 (Mandarin)

Register here: https://wri.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HyXC-xnfTUCzPySupCLWLg

How can integrated planning approaches tackle complex urban challenges to ensure a resilient, livable future for all?

Join us on September 21 during Climate Week NYC to discuss this pressing question. You’ll learn from experts about holistic strategies to combat urban environmental crises, such as pollution and biodiversity loss. You’ll also hear from local leaders in India, Sierra Leone, and Argentina on how cross-sectoral collaboration is spurring low-carbon growth within their cities.

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP
  • Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO, GEF
  • Ani Dasgupta, President & CEO, WRI
  • Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities
  • Yvonne Denise Aki-Sawyerr, OBE, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs
  • Claire O'Neill, Managing Director, Climate & Energy, WBCSD
  • Walter Vuoto, Mayor of Ushuaia, Argentina
  • Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI
  • Neeta Pokhrel, Chief, Water Sector Group, ADB
  • Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Director & Executive Coordinator, Nature, Climate & Energy, UNDP
  • Maitreyi Das, Manager, Urban, DRM, Resilience & Land Global Practice, World Bank
  • Gustavo Fonseca, Director of Programmes, GEF


This event will mark the official launch of UrbanShift, a global program supporting cities around the world to adopt sustainable, integrated approaches to urban development. UrbanShift is funded by the GEF, led by UNEP, and implemented in partnership with WRI, C40 Cities, ICLEI, UNDP, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.

Visit shiftcities.org for more information and follow us on Twitter @shiftcities!