Focusing on adaptation and climate resilience issues, this anthology provides space for senior experts and practitioners to respond to some of the most pressing challenges facing the just transition movement in South Africa today, including natural resource use, jobs, mental health, gender equity, finance and more.

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.

This report finds that a low carbon growth path for Indonesia can deliver an average GDP growth rate of 6% annually until 2045. It would unlock an array of economic, social and environmental benefits, including reducing extreme poverty, generating additional better-paid jobs, and avoiding deaths due to reduced air pollution.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.