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The document examines Johannesburg's transition toward a 'safe city' through the Integrated Intelligence Operations Centre (IIOC), which pools CCTV networks and AI analytics. It argues that these systems, often developed via public-private partnerships with firms like IBM and Huawei, lack transparency and threaten civil liberties. The author contends that surveillance does not address the root causes of crime—poverty and inequality—and recommends banning 'nerve centres' and video analytics in public spaces in favor of community-led, low-tech safety solutions.

The report argues that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated a false dichotomy between natural and man-made biological threats, necessitating a unified national security approach. It recommends expanding the U.S. bio industrial base, improving early pathogen detection through persistent sequencing and diagnostics, and fostering deep public-private collaboration. The authors suggest that effective coordination and capacity building are more critical than major government reorganization, emphasizing the need to leverage existing assets and the successes of initiatives like Operation Warp Speed to prevent future outbreaks from reaching pandemic scale.

The report examines China's green finance landscape, identifying a significant gap between current investment levels and the estimated USD 1.4 trillion annual investment needed over the next decade to meet 2015 climate and environmental targets. While green credit and bonds saw success during the 13th Five-Year Plan, finance remains heavily dominated by the public sector, with at least 51% of total green finance coming from public sources, primarily Central State Owned Enterprises and state-owned banks. The document highlights barriers for private capital, such as high 'search costs' and limited access to financing channels, and notes that half of the USD 292 billion in energy-related investments to Belt and Road Initiative countries between 2013 and 2019 went to fossil fuels. It recommends increasing the ambition of green standards, improving project pipeline visibility for private actors, and introducing mandatory exclusion lists for high-emission sectors.

The document argues that Brazilian municipalities, particularly small and medium-sized ones, face significant credit and technical barriers to financing infrastructure. It proposes the use of Pooled Financial Management Mechanisms (MFGCs) to aggregate demand and reduce risk, drawing on international examples from France, the Nordic countries, Mexico, India, and the Philippines. The brief identifies regulatory hurdles in Brazil, such as the Fiscal Responsibility Law, and recommends updating the legal framework to allow subnational consortia more autonomy in raising funds and improving governance to attract green and sustainable capital.

The report finds that urban adaptation finance is significantly underfunded, representing only 3-5% of total global adaptation flows, with an estimated annual investment of up to USD 3.7 billion against a projected need of USD 11-20 billion for urban infrastructure protection. Analysis of the Global Landscape of Climate Finance, World Bank PPI, and CDP Cities data reveals a heavy concentration of funding in the water and wastewater sectors and a geographic bias toward East Asia and the Pacific, particularly China. Key barriers to scaling finance include limited DFI mandates for sub-national investment, poor municipal creditworthiness, and a lack of standardized outcome metrics for private investors. The report recommends developing practitioner case study databases, improving urban boundary tracking, and expanding DFI mandates to work directly with cities.

The document examines the failure of most SADC member states to adhere to the Abuja Declaration's pledge to allocate 15% of annual budgets to health, noting that by the end of 2018, all member states were struggling to meet this target. It identifies aid dependency and economic decline as primary barriers, while arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic serves as a critical catalyst for overhauling underfunded systems. To bridge funding gaps, the author recommends establishing a SADC regional healthcare fund backed by the African Union, forming public-private partnerships, improving domestic tax compliance, and involving civil society organisations to ensure transparency.

The report highlights that 600 million Africans lack electricity, with sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected. It argues that while legacy megaprojects like the Inga 3 dam and Stiegler's Gorge are financially and environmentally risky, decentralized renewable energy (DREs) and public-private partnerships offer more sustainable paths to electrification. The text also examines the geopolitical influence of Russia's nuclear diplomacy and China's investment in coal-fired plants, while noting the severe health impacts of biomass reliance among the rural poor.

The South African government aims to mobilise R1 trillion from the private sector over 10 years via an Infrastructure Fund to address an infrastructure deficit and revive economic growth. The document argues that the current focus on 'de-risking' private investment—through blended finance, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and converting infrastructure into asset classes—often shifts excessive risk to the public fiscus and may fail to deliver developmental outcomes. It cites the Gautrain and prison facilities in Bloemfontein and Louis Trichardt as examples of costly public-sector liabilities. The author recommends that the state maintain leadership in structural economic transformation, specifically shifting away from fossil fuels and extractive industries, while implementing stricter governance, transparency, and human rights due diligence for all private-sector involvements.

The document examines South Africa's strategy to mobilize R1 trillion in private investment through an Infrastructure Fund to address a widening infrastructure deficit. It analyzes three primary de-risking instruments: blended finance, the conversion of infrastructure into tradeable asset classes, and public-private partnerships (PPPs). The author argues that these mechanisms often shift excessive risk to the state through contingent liabilities and high transaction costs, while prioritizing 'bankable' economic projects over essential social infrastructure in poor and rural areas. The paper concludes that the current focus on private capital overplays benefits and underplays the risks of public-private arrangements, recommending a governance framework that prioritizes human rights and sustainable development over profit maximization.

The document examines the challenges and opportunities for private investment in Peru's waste sector to meet NDC goals. It evaluates specific technology options for landfills in Trujillo and San Juan Bautista, develops financial investment cases, and identifies systemic barriers such as high tax delinquency and lack of regulatory capacity. To address these, the paper proposes three priority measures: integrating waste tax collection into public utility bills, creating a national methodology for calculating waste service costs, and expanding the 'Work for Taxes' (OxI) scheme to final waste disposal infrastructure.

The review examines six key ASEAN guidelines, including those on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), crop insurance, responsible investment, public-private partnerships, and gender mainstreaming. It finds that while these guidelines often lack documented evidence of national-level implementation due to ASEAN's non-binding governance and lack of funding, they serve as critical tools for regional consensus and multilateral policy-making, such as submissions to the UNFCCC. The report recommends moving toward more strategic, intersectoral policy-making, improving the accessibility and readability of documents, and pairing guidelines with concrete implementation plans and monitoring frameworks.

The document is a Readiness support proposal submitted by UNEP to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for a project titled "Increasing the ambition of the NDCs and climate financing in the Central América." It targets five countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. The project aims to address gaps in regional coordination, institutional legal frameworks, and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems. Key objectives include designing market-based financial instruments to attract private sector investment, integrating NDCs with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and COVID-19 recovery plans, and establishing a regional digital platform for investment information. The total requested amount is USD 1,249,986.00 for an implementation period of 18 months.

The document examines how COVID-19 disrupted the livelihoods of millions in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, highlighting a lack of government support and severe economic losses due to supply chain restrictions. It notes that while the informal sector served as a critical social safety net, the pandemic exacerbated gender inequalities. The report argues that the recovery phase offers an opportunity for governments to 'build back better' through public-private partnerships and progressive regulation to foster a formal, responsible mining sector.

The document examines how COVID-19 disrupted the livelihoods of millions in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, highlighting the failure of many governments to provide specific pandemic support and the negative impact of lockdowns on mineral supply chains. It notes that while the informal sector served as a critical economic safety net, the pandemic exacerbated gender inequalities. The briefing argues that the recovery phase offers an opportunity to 'build back better' through public-private cooperation to formalize the sector and establish trust between miners and government institutions.

The paper advocates for a shift from public-private partnerships (PPPs) to an 'infrastructure business' model based on stewardship. It suggests that PPPs lack the flexibility needed for a changing world, citing the efficiency of PAYGO solar systems over traditional grids. To ensure these businesses align with community needs, the author proposes four management tools: requiring periodic master plans, using impact management frameworks like the Impact Management Project (IMP), ensuring independence in decision-making, and enhancing accountability through open data and transparency initiatives such as CoST and GRESB.

The document examines the governance of Lephalale, a mining town in Limpopo, South Africa, arguing that the municipality's lack of land ownership and institutional capacity has allowed private mining interests, specifically Exxaro and Eskom, to maintain control over urban development. It highlights how the Medupi power station project exposed these weaknesses, leading to the creation of the Lephalale Development Forum (LDF), which the author describes as a parallel administration that prioritizes corporate interests over democratic spatial integration.

The policy brief proposes restructuring South African governance by establishing a National Strategy and Development Council (NSDC) in the presidency. This body would transform existing cabinet clusters into directorates to ensure policy continuity and prevent ministers from making uncoordinated, sector-specific decisions. Specifically, it suggests an International Relations Trade and Security (IRTS) directorate supported by an independent, non-governmental Council on International Relations and Cooperation (CIRC) to provide expert advice and research, moving away from a 'party-state' model toward a disciplined 'developmental state'.

The report analyzes Canadian infrastructure investment flows and stocks from 2009 to 2019, noting significant growth in hydroelectric power and pollution abatement but a sharp decline in wind and solar investments. It highlights a total infrastructure value of 250 billion dollars in 2019, dominated by electricity assets. The author argues that current data is incomplete, lacking coverage of energy efficiency, natural infrastructure, and building renovations, and proposes a new classification system to better align investments with long-term climate goals and avoid 'path dependency' where current projects fail to meet future resilience needs.

The ASER Solar Rural Electrification Project aims to provide 100% solar mini-grids to 1,000 isolated villages in Senegal between 2021 and 2026. With a total financing package of EUR 198.7 million, including EUR 75.4 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the project targets the electrification of 38,900 households and the support of 3,739 productive use applications. The initiative focuses on reducing CO2 emissions, improving rural resilience to climate change, and empowering women and youth through technical assistance and financial incentives for energy-powered businesses.

The report outlines a framework for Saint Lucia to mobilise domestic and international climate finance to build resilience. It identifies key funding sources, assesses the scale and type of existing project concepts, and defines the roles of government agencies, accredited entities, and the private sector in a cyclical financing process.