The Growing Momentum Behind 3Ci

The fight against climate change will be won or lost in cities. We’ve known this for some time. The question is, What do cities need to do financially to rise to that challenge?   How can they strengthen their business cases for net zero investment? And if their plans are brought together and aligned in a new and creative ways, could they generate greater scale, volume and predictability in ways that might make them more attractive to investors?  To answer this, the Connected Places Catapult has teamed up with the UK’s Core Cities and London Councils to create the UK Cities Commission for Climate Investment, or 3Ci. The aim is to the leverage the combined scale and clout of the UK’s cities to mobilise investment into low and net-zero carbon projects across all of the UK’s largest cities, not just individual ones. 3Ci was launched in the lead up to COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, so in this episode we hear about the momentum that’s been growing behind 3Ci over the last year. We hear how the UK’s cities have started having a closer, more collaborative conversation with banks, pension funds and private investors.   We hear from:   Cllr Susan Aitkin, Leader of Glasgow City Council  Mayor Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol  Cllr Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council and Chair of London Councils  Prof Greg Clark CBE, Chair of 3Ci  Chris Sood-Nicholls, Managing Director and Head of Regional Development, Lloyds Banking Group   Pete Gladwell, Group Social Impact & Invesment Director, Legal and General  Lesley McEwan, Assistant Director (Government & Infrastructure), Deloitte  Ingrid Holmes, Executive Director, Green Finance Institute  Josiah Lockhart, CEO of Changeworks  Steve Turner, Director of 3Ci  The 3Ci partnership is now widening to include Metro Mayors, Combined Authorities, Scottish and Key Cities, Counties and Districts and a growing number of private investors, financiers, advisors, developers and built environment technology professionals. Innovate UK has also been providing core funding for 3Ci and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is providing programme support.   Theme music on this episode is by Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)