Towards the attainment of climate-smart PPP infrastructure projects: A critical review and recommendations

Abstract Extreme climate change is an existential threat to humanity and infrastructure development. At the same time, the construction and operation of carbon-intense public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure such as road transport, water, public houses, energy supply and saniation unleash most of the greenhouse gas emissions that impacts negatively on the climate. Increasingly, there is a heightened interests in the development and financing of climate-smart PPP solutions to save our planet from climate disaster. Therefore, in this present study, a critical review to identify the key driving factors and challenges for climate-smart PPP solutions was undertaken together with recommendations. The paper utilised a systematic literature review (SLR) method where data was sourced from prominent academic databases of Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed. The outcomes of the review demonstrate key drivers such as the urgent need to attain net-zero carbon emission targets and climate activisim to transition to low-carbon public infrastructures. The barriers identified include poor responses to resolving climate crisis in the PPP infrastructures, and lapses in project policies and practices to achieve climate-resilient PPPs. The results of this article highlight relevant gaps and recommendations for further research and management of PPP projects.