Together with the municipality of Rotterdam, NextGreen investigated the role of financial institutions in making Rotterdam climate-proof. 

Client Municipality of Rotterdam
Duration 2021 – 2022

Together with the municipality of Rotterdam, NextGreen is investigating the role of financial institutions in making Rotterdam climate-proof. 

Context

Climate change is causing hotter summers, heavier rainfall, and a greater risk of flooding and damage in Rotterdam. The municipality of Rotterdam plays a leading role in making public spaces climate-proof. However, private spaces have many different owners. Housing associations own almost half of the homes in Rotterdam. They improve the quality of housing through major maintenance, renovation, and the construction of new homes. Just over half of all homes and buildings in Rotterdam are privately owned; some by (larger) real estate companies, but at least 30 percent by individual private owners. Certain homes, streets, and neighborhoods, especially in old city districts, often suffer from nuisance and damage during extreme weather. The investments required to create a climate-proof building can sometimes be substantial. Investments are not always attractive to real estate managers and are sometimes unaffordable for individual owners.

Objective

Making Rotterdam more climate-proof by:

• Exploring the potential role of financial institutions (banks, insurers, and real estate investors) in making Rotterdam climate-proof.
• Identifying the opportunities and challenges facing housing associations, real estate companies, and private homeowners.
• Identify a number of key points for further cooperation between the municipality and financial institutions on climate adaptation.

Process approach

NextGreen, together with the municipality of Rotterdam, entered into discussions with interested financial institutions about specific cases in the city. In the subsequent roundtable discussion, the most important insights were shared and summarized into seven key points together with Rodenburg Water Advies. These were used as a basis for further cooperation between the municipality of Rotterdam and the financial sector.

Services and activities

Organizing dialogue | Individual discussions with financial institutions | Organizing roundtable discussions | Analysis and reporting of findings