Publications

This paper compares job creation per dollar from various types of green investments vs. unsustainable investments. It also explores how to promote good jobs that have fair wages, job security, opportunities for career growth, safe working conditions, and are accessible for all. 

This working paper draws on the latest economic research to demonstrate how climate policy and investments in low-carbon infrastructure can reboot America’s economy and set it up for long-term success. On the other hand, delaying action on climate will further expose the United States to costly damages from climate impacts, air pollution, and public health crises.

The urban development policy outlined in this roadmap presents a pathway whereby Tanzanian cities can drive the country to middle-income status, unlocking in the process the complementarity between urbanisation, industrialisation, and climate-resilient development. In short, the roadmap provides Tanzania with the means to deliver on both domestic and international obligations, forging new development pathways and providing crucial and much-needed leadership to the region. 

This paper makes the case for a coordinated or systems approach to urban finance. Traditional approaches to urban finance have often focused on actions that cities can take, such as issuing municipal bonds or securing a good credit rating. Much of the recent literature emphasizes mechanisms such as debt financing, public-private partnerships, and land value capture instruments. 

This paper explores the wealth of options available to national transport policymakers who wish to support more compact and connected urban development, and provides clear inputs on how to prioritise, broadening the focus from facilitating movement, to achieving true accessibility. It outlines different types of transport policy instruments and governance reforms and examines 21 widely discussed interventions – including five that global experts identified as particularly effective for making cities more accessible. It ends with guiding principles for choosing and implementing the options best suited to each national context. 

This paper offers lessons from the cities of Kampala and Jinja in Uganda, where solar street lighting has proven cheaper to build and operate than conventional street lights. It has also generated a range of economic and social benefits, including lower crime rates, better road safety, a more vibrant night-time economy and higher property values. 

Prepared by Cambridge Econometrics (CE) with feedback from the New Climate Economy (NCE) team, this draft note summarises methodological aspects, modelled scenarios and macroeconomic results to provide empirical inputs to the NCE 2018 Global Commission Report. The aim of the modelling exercise was to illustrate examples of policies that can simultaneously promote economic growth and reduce the risks of climate change.  

This paper analyses lessons from Kochi and Trivandrum, Kerala, India, where municipal government and community partnerships on house building projects have led to better quality new housing stock while reducing costs and environmental impacts. It finds that by placing participation at the heart of their processes, these cities have achieved 100 per cent occupancy rates at a lower cost, while also cutting carbon emissions and providing economic benefits. Nationwide, costs and occupancy levels of Kochi and Trivandrum could save Rs. 118 billion (US$1.71 billion) or build an additional 816,000 homes. 

Conventional approaches to solid waste management have often proven unaffordable and ineffective. This paper analyses the lessons from Ahmedabad, India. It finds that clear national leadership that supports municipal authorities to integrate unionised informal waste pickers into formal municipal waste management can deliver competitive recycling rates at lower costs, whilst also improving the income, health, job security and inclusion of marginalised groups, reducing urban poverty and enhancing climate resilience. 

This paper analyses lessons from India, where electricity consumption is set to triple by 2040. It finds that clear national leadership supporting municipal authorities to incorporate innovative business models that help low-income households to access renewable energy is critical. If new approaches used in New Delhi were adopted nationwide, they would deliver 8 gigawatts of additional solar capacity by 2022, reduce energy bills for 2.6 million households, create 100,000–150,000 jobs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 megatonnes a year—the equivalent of closing four coal-fired power stations. 

National governments across Africa can enhance the effectiveness and accountability of multi-level governance by legally clarifying the roles and responsibilities of different international, national, and local actors. National governments are typically best placed to oversee matters such as the coordination of policy and regulatory frameworks; the efficiency and appropriateness of municipal boundaries; water basins; regional power grids; and intercity transport routes. In contrast, housing, sanitation, waste management, and urban transport benefit from local negotiation and coordination. 

In this paper, we conclusively demonstrate that there are many synergies between aspirations for urban development and the imperative for climate action. We draw on over 700 papers, focusing on the literature on low-carbon measures in the buildings, transport, and waste sectors. This systematic review clearly shows that low-carbon measures can help to achieve a range of development priorities, such as job creation, improved public health, social inclusion, and improved accessibility. 

Tanzania has the sixth highest rate of urban population growth in the world, but so far it has been largely informal and unmanaged. This paper offers recommendations for managing Tanzania’s urban growth at the country level. 

This paper describes the relatively new phenomenon of publicly-capitalized green investment banks and examines why they are being created and how they are mobilizing private investment. 

China’s recent policy reforms reveal China’s ambitious plan to green its financial system and finance sustainable infrastructure. This paper reviews this ambitious green finance package, highlights remaining uncertainties, and provides recommendations for success. 

This paper identifies different potential pathways to decarbonization of Indian Railways by 2030 and examines their cost-effectiveness and feasibility. 

This paper is a background review representing part of the initial phase of the Financing the Urban Transition work programme. The review builds on a growing body of research that highlights both the importance of national sustainable infrastructure and the need to develop more effective and efficient financing mechanisms for delivering compact, connected cities that meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. While progress has been made in both these areas over the last five years, there remains a policy gap between the international/national level and the municipal level.

This report explores the ways in which urban policy sectors are integrated (or fragmented) in ten case study countries: China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. The analysis is based on the most recent and authoritative national-level policy documents. 

New mobility services could improve the lives of all urban inhabitants. This first ever global survey finds that applying three types of new mobility services – electric, on-demand minibuses, subsidized shared rides, and trip-planning and ticketing apps – can make public transport more affordable, accessible and sustainable, if integrated properly. 

Urbanisation is one of the most important potential drivers of productivity and growth in the global economy. But if countries and cities are to capture the productivity benefits of urban growth while minimising the costs, cities will need to shift to a more economically and environmentally sustainable growth pattern. This policy brief focuses on the role of national governments in mobilising and directing urban finance, with the aim of supporting policymakers and practitioners to think systematically about financing compact, connected, and coordinated urban development.