Pooled Finance: Brazil's Opportunity to Finance Subnational Sustainable Infrastructure

The document argues that Brazilian municipalities, particularly small and medium-sized ones, face significant financial and regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment. It suggests that subnational consortia can overcome these hurdles by adopting Pooled Finance Mechanisms (PFMs)—such as club deals, aggregation platforms, and bond banks—to access capital markets and attract green investment. The brief identifies a USD 1.3 trillion green investment opportunity in Brazil and recommends updating Law 11,107/2005 and the Law of Fiscal Responsibility to facilitate autonomous fundraising and improve governance for public consortia.

• There is a substantial green investment opportunity in Brazil estimated at USD 1.3 trillion across sectors including energy efficiency, buildings, water and waste management, and climate-smart transportation.
• Subnational consortia are a viable solution for aggregating smaller municipalities to improve creditworthiness and technical capacity, yet only 24.2% of existing consortia currently address general infrastructure projects.
• The current legal framework for public consortia under Law 11,107/2005 is insufficient for autonomous fundraising, as it does not specify how access to funding sources should be granted and remains subject to Federal Senate limits.
• International models of pooled finance, such as the Water and Sanitation Pooled Fund in India and the Philippine Water Revolving Fund, demonstrate how blended finance and SPVs can provide lower-cost debt to small urban local bodies.

APA

Ambrosano, J., Souza, L., Brakarz, B., & Callau, V. (2021). Pooled Finance: Brazil's Opportunity to Finance Subnational Sustainable Infrastructure. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Pooled-Finance-Brazils-Opportunity-to-Finance-Subnational-Sustainable-Infrastructure.pdf

Chicago

Ambrosano, Julia, Leisa Souza, Barbara Brakarz, and Vanessa Callau. Pooled Finance: Brazil's Opportunity to Finance Subnational Sustainable Infrastructure. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Pooled-Finance-Brazils-Opportunity-to-Finance-Subnational-Sustainable-Infrastructure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ambrosano |first1=Julia |last2=Souza |first2=Leisa |last3=Brakarz |first3=Barbara |last4=Callau |first4=Vanessa |title=Pooled Finance: Brazil's Opportunity to Finance Subnational Sustainable Infrastructure |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=February 2021 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Pooled-Finance-Brazils-Opportunity-to-Finance-Subnational-Sustainable-Infrastructure.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ambrosano2021pooled, author = {Ambrosano, Julia and Souza, Leisa and Brakarz, Barbara and Callau, Vanessa}, title = {{Pooled Finance: Brazil's Opportunity to Finance Subnational Sustainable Infrastructure}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Pooled-Finance-Brazils-Opportunity-to-Finance-Subnational-Sustainable-Infrastructure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }