Preface
The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, with the frequency and severity of extreme events such as floods, heatwaves, and wildfires surpassing historic norms. Globally effective climate action is essential, to simultaneously accelerate the net zero transition and mitigate the severity of future events, while also building resilience to locked-in climate change impacts.
Sustainable infrastructure has a key role to play in meeting our shared mitigation objectives, from renewable energy generation and transmission, to low or zero carbon transportation modes, to more efficient industrial facilities, among many others. In parallel, both existing and new transport, energy, telecommunications and water infrastructure will need to be adapted and made more resilient to a changing climate as well as evolving risks from extreme events. This will require climate resilience to be taken into account at all stages of the infrastructure project lifecycle, including planning, design, construction and maintenance.
Investments in climate-resilient infrastructure offer benefits well beyond the management of societal and economic risks from climate change. For example, nature-based solutions to resilience, such as the creation of urban wetlands, afforestation and vegetation restoration can protect biodiversity, mitigate pollution and contribute to more liveable cities.
The investments needed to seize these opportunities are significant: according to OECD, World Bank and UN Environment analysis, an annual investment of USD 6.9 trillion in infrastructure will be necessary by 2030 to ensure infrastructure investment is compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
At a time of significant pressure on public finances and debt sustainability, no government can meet these investment needs alone. Unlocking private investments in climate resilience will require long-term project planning, reducing regulatory barriers, effective risk-sharing arrangements and, when required, the targeted and strategic use of public support to attract private financing – particularly when the timeline for resilience investment returns may constitute a barrier to private sector participation.
This report, an important output of the OECD’s High Level Approach to Enhance and Better Integrate OECD Work on Infrastructure (2024), leverages the expertise of several OECD committees to demonstrate how to integrate climate resilience in infrastructure development – from planning to financing to construction. Launched at the OECD Infrastructure Forum on 9 April 2024, the report provides evidence-based policy recommendations and highlights the experiences of jurisdictions around the world including developing economies, ultimately with the goal of supporting better infrastructure policy for better lives.
