Critical Raw Materials

Afronomicslaw invites experts, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to contribute as paid consultants to a series of quarterly reports on critical issues shaping Africa’s economic and financial landscape. These reports will take the form of policy briefs that are well-researched, written in clear and accessible language, and including actionable recommendations. These policy briefs, of at least 8,000 words, will provide in-depth analysis, evidence-based policy recommendations, and thought leadership on key thematic areas including sovereign debt, economic justice, the green transition, and sustainable development across the continent.

In this contribution, we demonstrate how the so-called Green Deals initiatives which espouse an increasing drive to “catalyze” private financing by using public resources, including development assistance, may create perverse impacts on sustainable development in developing countries. The move may mean an overarching shift towards reliance on private sector to provide public infrastructure and services in ways that ensure a return for the private sector through buy-back guarantees and favourable contractual conditions. Such moves may create contingent liabilities on developing countries in addition to diverting public resources towards the private sector, including foreign investors, and undermining public oversight.