An Urban Development Fund (UDF) invests in public-private partnerships and other projects included in an integrated plan for sustainable urban development. A UDF can be a separate legal entity or be established as a “separate block of finance” within an existing financial institution. UDFs can be established at either a national, regional or local/city level in response to integrated urban development plans, project pipelines and investor interests.” http://www.eib.org/products/blending/jessica/funds/index.htm .
Published in Chapter:
Energy Investment in Smart Cities Unlocking Financial Instruments in Europe
Francesca Romana Medda (University College London, UK), Candace Partridge (University College London, UK), and Gianni Carbonaro (European Investment Bank, Luxembourg)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 26
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8282-5.ch019
Abstract
The intense pressures being brought to bear by the increasing diversity in European urban development patterns call for innovative funding mechanisms to promote smart sustainable urban development, most notably in the energy sector. Currently in Europe, various policy initiatives support sustainable urban development through financial engineering mechanisms operating at municipal and regional scales. The objective of this chapter is to review the main financial mechanisms focusing on energy, and in particular on urban investments committed to a highly energy-efficient, and low carbon, economy. Within this framework we assert that, in order to achieve the EU sustainable urban development outcomes, specific European financial instruments will need to be considered as viable key investment options. The structure and operational features of European Financial Instruments are explored here in the case of the Urban Development Fund implemented in London. We also discuss the importance of ESCOs and crowdfunding as essential funding sources for community energy projects, and suggest that European policy should recognise their importance.