Public-private partnerships for low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure: Insights from the literature

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly being utilized worldwide as a means of providing climate mitigation and adaptation interventions, including low-carbon, climate-resilient (LCCR) infrastructure. To explore LCCR PPPs in more depth, we conduct a systematic literature review of articles published in peer-reviewed, academic journals between 1990 and 2023, matched with a snowballing search approach. Our analysis is specifically focused on the reasons for public and private involvement in PPPs that solve climate-related problems and the main features influencing the outcomes of these projects. Our findings indicate that public authorities opt for PPPs in LCCR infrastructure projects due to budgetary constraints and the imperative for innovation. Private sector participation is driven by considerations such as profitability, risk mitigation, and favourable policy frameworks. Relative to more traditional PPP models, LCCR partnerships adopt more creative schemes, involve a larger number of stakeholders, display different risk allocations, and pay more attention to social acceptance. Moreover, their outcome and eventual success are more keenly measured in terms of social acceptance, transparency, and their relevance to citizens and social organizations. Future work should assess the overall efficacy of PPPs in delivering climate mitigation and adaptation interventions, especially emission reductions. Additionally, greater attention should be directed towards examining the replicability of case studies. Rather than relying on criteria established in the extant literature, emphasis should also be placed on climate objectives.