81318195-On demand experts to support cities in the early-stage preparation of climate resilient and low carbon investment projects in the energy sector (Lot 1)

Project description - All lots The City Climate Finance Gap Fund (Gap Fund) is a collaborative initiative involving donors (GER BMWK / BMZ and LUX), the World Bank (WB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, along with partner organizations such as city networks and international multi-stakeholder partnerships. Its primary objective is to assist cities in middle- and low-income countries (as per the OECD-DAC List (https://www.oecd.org/content/oecd/en/topics/sub-issues/oda-standards.html)) in transitioning towards low-carbon and climate-resilient pathways. The implementation of the Gap Fund is carried out by Technical Secretariats at the WB and EIB in cooperation with GIZ, with an implementation period spanning from 2020 to 2027. Both the EIB and WB host a multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) of EUR 48 million and EUR 57 million respectively. In 2023, donor contributions to the Gap Fund have doubled the initial fund"s capitalisation bringing it to 105 million EUR. The Gap Fund provides support to cities in emerging and developing economies in the development and execution of climate strategies and investment projects, including energy, transport, waste, water, and nature-based solutions with a focus on both, adaptation and mitigation. Its assistance covers the early stages of the investment process, ranging from contextual understanding and strategy development to data collection, stakeholder engagement, investment prioritization, and project preparation. Additionally, a new area of support is being opened under the Gap Fund, focusing on capacity development for cities and intermediaries. The Gap Fund activities are organized into three main tracks: 1. Support to urban strategy development (WB); 2. Support for low-carbon, climate-resilient project development (WB and EIB/GIZ); 3. Partnership coordination, knowledge and information sharing among project preparation facilities and standardisation of early project preparation approaches (advocacy, outreach and coordination - WB and EIB/GIZ). The tendered service is related to Track 2. The EIB-GIZ Gap Fund The specific objective of the EIB/GIZ Gap Fund (outcome) is: Cities access catalytic technical assistance and grant funding for early-stage preparation of 1.5 degree compatible climate-resilient and low-carbon urban infrastructure projects and prepared projects are successfully taken up by existing national, regional, and international PPFs. The EIB/GIZ Gap Fund key performance indicators include assessing 900 expressions of interest (EoI) from cities jointly with the WB, implementing technical assistance for 130 urban investment projects, and linking 65% of these projects to further technical assistance or financing by November 2027.