Infrastructure and Investment policy

According to G20 plans, infrastructure investments are to be doubled worldwide. But what kind of infrastructure will be built and who will benefit? How are such large-scale infrastructure projects compatible with the goals of sustainable development and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to zero? How should infrastructure be financed, and what role should public-private partnerships play in financing these projects?

Our dossier provides up-to-date information and analyses on global infrastructure and investment policies.

Publications

Study cover titled “Complementary, Cooperative, or Competitive?” above aerial view of forest and solar panel installation.

Complementary, Cooperative or Competitive? The EU’s and China’s Engagement in Global Net-Zero Emissions Development

Policy Paper

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the geopolitical landscape of climate action has fundamentally shifted. This policy paper examines how the EU and China interact across the Global South in support of net-zero development.

Martin Voss, Maya Kielhorn

EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment

Study

China and the EU are currently negotiating a new, far-reaching investment treaty called the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). This scoping paper focuses on the potential risks for the EU from enshrining rights for Chinese investors in Europe in an international investment treaty.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): A Multilateral Bank Where China Sets the Rules

In the last years, a number of countries decided to join the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has developed into a major player in the global financial architecture in record time. Korinna Horta's analysis of the situation regarding the respective standards after three years of AIIB in operation is very sobering.

Korinna Horta

The AIIB - A multilateral bank like any other?

Dossier

The Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) opened for business in 2016 and rapidly became a major actor in global finance. By the end of 2020, the AIIB could count 102 approved member countries. The participation of Europe's largest economies as founding members of the AIIB was critical to the AIIB obtaining a triple-A credit rating from the world's leading rating agencies. This paper written by Wawa Wang and Korinna Horta provides an overview of the institution's close alignment with China and the concentration of decision-making power in its President.

Infrastructure investment

No Blank Check for Development Banks

The infrastructure projects needed to forestall catastrophic climate change are rarely attractive investments for the private sector or even most governments. That means development banks have a crucial role to play.

Jörg Haas, Kevin P. Gallagher

The G20’s principles on institutional investment: A Trojan horse for finance-driven infrastructure?

Who is served by the G20’s infrastructure finance model? The answer lies in the most recent OECD guidance if one can find it, hidden – as in a Trojan horse.

History RePPPeated - How public private partnerships are failing

Studie

A new report exposing how public private partnerships (PPPs) across the globe have drained the public purse, and failed to deliver in the public interest, was launched at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank in Bali. The report entitled “History RePPPeated: How public private partnerships are failing” compiles no less than 10 case studies, showing how and why each PPP project failed to provide value-for-money, transparency and/or humane infrastructure projects.

The Other Infrastructure Gap: Sustainability

Mega-infrastructure plans and financing and investment policies to promote private investments in the energy, transport and water sectors are on the rise. This publication provides recommendations to policy- and decision-makers on how human rights and environmental benefits can be maximized.

Contracts for Sustainable Infrastructure

Infrastructure is essential to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to the success of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Our partner IISD presents why governments must invest in sustainable infrastructure and how they can integrate sustainability into infrastructure contracts.

Financing Infrastructure in Financial Markets: Why Civil Society Should Be Alert

For civil society agendas in support of sustainable development, human rights, and accountable and participatory governance, the increased involvement of institutional investors in infrastructure projects raises a number of issues.

Infrastructure investment and Public Private Partnerships

The G20 Compact with Africa: innovative partnerships or business as usual?

Africa and the G20 – Considerations for Building a Meaningful Partnership

Will the G20’s infrastructure finance model support people, especially the poorest and vulnerable ones that lack access to infrastructure, and bring greater equality? Or is it a means to create another plaything for financial markets to concentrate wealth at the top?

Aldo Caliari

Monopoly in Africa?

In 2017, Africa has gained unusual prominence – within and beyond the framework of the German G20 presidency. This web dossier analyses possibilities for democratic participation, the role of human and environmental rights, and economic transformation.

Marshall plan for Nigeria

Through three initiatives, Germany promises to support Africa in the development of its growth and development potential and thus curtail migration. But how many voices from Nigeria are being heard in the debate in Germany? This web dossier wants to highlight arguments for the “Development That Nigeria Wants” and transport these perspectives into the Africa debate currently taking place in Germany.

Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Africa: The Need for Human Rights-Focused Regulation

China's interests in Zambia are very much dependent on the infrastructure of the country: The G20 summit in Seoul placed infrastructure development squarely on the international agenda.

Josua Loots

Women of the Ekuri community protest against the superhighway

Without Direction: Nigeria’s Cross River State Superhighway

Three months after the ground-breaking ceremony for a superhighway in Nigeria’s Cross River State the opposition grew. People were wary of not being compensated for losing their land.

Pamela Braide

Section of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project

When Clean Energy Gets Dirty: Experiences from Kenya

The current discourse on renewable energy tends to centre on the positive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improved energy security, while the risks of social and environmental injustice are largely ignored.

Ikal Ange'elei

Perspectives #02/2017: Putting People Back Into Infrastructure

This edition of Perspectives contributes to the ongoing debate on infrastructure development in Africa by sharing snapshots of experience from around the continent, exploring questions about democratic participation, the role of human and environmental rights, and economic transformation.

Dossiers