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Topic: City Climate Finance GAP Fund : Challenges and Opportunities Moving Forward
Organize by: Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA)

Format: Panel Discussion
Moderator：Moderator:Kamisah Mohd Ghazali
Head,Sustainability & Community Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA)

Online Speakers:

-John Hosung Lee, Urban Specialist
in Urban, Resilience, and Land Global Practice of East Asia Pacific Region, World Bank, Singapore

-Diyora Kabulova, Regional SDG Finance Policy Specialist
UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub

-Kyoko Hirasawa, Environmental Consultant
Japan NUS Co., Ltd. (JANUS)

【Reflection】
The session successfully gathered national, multilateral, and local perspectives on advancing urban climate finance, featuring speakers from the World Bank, UNDP, and Japan NUS Co., Ltd. (JANUS). The programme opened with an introductory presentation highlighting the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) as a testbed for green investments and low-carbon collaboration.

Mdm. Kamisah Mohd Ghazali, Head of Sustainability & Community at IRDA, set the scene by outlining global climate finance needs and opportunities for cities. This was followed by expert presentations:

• Mr. John Hosung Lee (World Bank) highlighted the City Climate Finance Gap Fund and the Malaysia Low Carbon and Resilient Cities Programme, emphasizing the importance of technical assistance moving from planning to bankable projects.

• Ms. Diyora Kabulova (UNDP) discussed financing trends, challenges, and instruments, including Malaysia’s Climate Finance Innovation Lab, stressing municipal capacity building and innovative financial tools.

• Ms. Kyoko Hirasawa (JANUS) presented Japan’s City-to-City Collaboration Programme experience, showcasing decarbonization feasibility studies and technology transfer in Malaysian cities.

A moderated deep-dive panel dialogue enabled rich exchanges on practical solutions to unlock climate finance, institutional readiness, and the role of city partnerships. Speakers explored pathways for improving project bankability, aligning local initiatives with international financing frameworks, and leveraging partnerships for innovation.

The programme achieved its objective of facilitating cross-sectoral dialogue, building awareness of financing mechanisms, and strengthening collaboration among cities, development partners, and technical institutions.

【Post EXPO Initiatives】

After Expo 2025 Osaka, IRDA will continue building on the momentum of this session to deepen international partnerships and advance climate finance initiatives in Johor and Iskandar Malaysia.

IRDA will take the lead in coordinating follow-up actions, which include:

• Strengthening collaboration with multilateral and international partners to support the development of a robust pipeline of bankable urban climate projects in Johor, especially within the JS-SEZ.

• Enhancing institutional readiness by improving financial planning tools such as climate budget tagging, climate-informed investment management, and exploring innovative financing strategies at the local level.

• Expanding city-to-city collaborations and facilitating knowledge and technology exchange with international cities to accelerate decarbonization in areas such as sustainable transport, renewable energy, and smart infrastructure.

• Positioning the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) as a demonstration site for innovative climate finance approaches and low-carbon urban development models that can be adapted and scaled to other regions in Malaysia and beyond.

Importantly, IRDA currently has several projects in the pipeline for which funding opportunities are being explored. Through these initiatives, IRDA will work to translate discussions into tangible projects, attract diverse sources of financing, and accelerate the transition toward net-zero, climate-resilient urban development in Johor.