BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. For many investors,
environmental and social considerations are becoming increasingly
important, Senior Advisor on Urban Development and Infrastructure
at the African Development Bank, Ole Stubdrup, said, Trend reports.


He made the remark during a session on “Decarbonizing housing
and buildings at the City-Industry-Climate Nexus” as part of
WUF13.


“For us, as a development bank, this is critical: we want to see
a real impact, especially for the most vulnerable groups. If this
can be demonstrated, it significantly increases the chances of
funding approval,” he said.


Stubdrub also noted that the issue of scaling up is constantly
being discussed.


“We have many pilot projects and proven solutions, but to scale
up and attract the private sector, we need a sufficient volume of
projects that will be of interest to institutional investors, such
as pension funds. To achieve this, we must either bundle projects
or consider the development of entire urban districts, rather than
just individual housing units,” he said


The bank representative noted that in such models,
infrastructure can be financed by government or multilateral
institutions, while housing is financed by the private sector. This
creates a larger investment package.







Today, the fourth day of the WUF13 conference is taking place in
Baku.


The first day included a ministerial meeting dedicated to the
New Urban Agenda, a ministerial roundtable, assemblies for women
and civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban
prosperity. An official ceremony marking the raising of the UN and
Azerbaijani flags also took place.


The second day stood out for the inaugural Leaders' Summit,
featuring high-level discussions on the global housing crisis,
urbanization policy, and urban resilience. Concurrently, the
opening of the Mexico City pavilion took place, serving as a
significant platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin
American region and preparing for WUF14.


The third day of WUF13 featured a comprehensive program of
events covering the global housing crisis, the formation of safe
and inclusive cities, climate resilience, artificial intelligence
and urban governance, green urbanization, social equity, and
sustainable transport.


WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered
participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held
under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and
communities,” the forum brings together governments, international
organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to
strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban
development.