Cities across the globe are accelerating efforts to decarbonize and future-proof their building stock. Technologies are available, ambition is growing, and pilot projects are demonstrating what is possible.

Yet one critical challenge remains: These successes are not scaling.

Building projects are often implemented as one-off interventions, each with different standards, data, and financing structures. This fragmentation makes it difficult for investors to assess risk, aggregate projects, and deploy capital at scale. As a result, investment pipelines remain limited, and transaction costs high.

A global challenge with local realities

Across regions, cities face this challenge in different ways.

In Europe, cities engaged in the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy are advancing ambitious climate and energy commitments, yet many still struggle to translate these into bankable, scalable programs.

In China, rapid advances in construction standards and building codes are enabling large-scale implementation, while raising questions around performance verification and long-term investment confidence.

In Latin America, including Brazil and Ecuador, cities are advancing innovative projects despite financing and capacity constraints, highlighting the need to better connect technical ambition with financial viability.

Join us at Climate Week Zurich on 5 May 2026

ICLEI, together with AVETH – the Association for the Scientific Staff at ETH Zurich -, invites you to an interactive session: “Co-designing Financeable Urban Building Transitions.” This session will bring together policymakers, practitioners, and experts to explore a central question: What conditions are needed to turn successful pilot projects into investment-ready, scalable building transitions?

Confirmed speakers:

• Andrzej Urbanik, European Commission (DG REGIO)
• Fernanda Belizario Silva, ETH Zurich
• Bard Rama, ICLEI Europe (AEGIR)
• Andre Ullal, SKAT Consulting Ltd. (ZEB initiative, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation)

The session is designed as a hands-on strategy lab, combining short expert inputs with interactive discussions. Participants will engage directly in shaping solutions through three key lenses:

• Scaling through aggregation (AEGIR) – how to build investable pipelines
• Scaling through standards (ZEB) – how to make projects credible and replicable
• Finance & public leverage – how to unlock and structure investment

We warmly invite:

• Cities and local governments working on building renovation and energy transitions
• Practitioners and experts in sustainable buildings, urban development, and finance
• Financial institutions and impact investors exploring scalable climate investments

Location: ETH HG Building, Room E41, Zurich, Switzerland

Time: Reception from 09:30 CEST (light breakfast)

Whether you are working on policy, project development, or financing, this session offers a space to exchange, learn, and co-design solutions. Register here. Participation is free, but places are limited due to the session’s interactive format.