Citizen and stakeholder participation can improve the design and public acceptance of infrastructure projects. In an era of multiple crises, using citizen and stakeholder inputs in infrastructure decision making can help countries address long-term challenges such as climate change, and promote minority inclusion, gender equality and biodiversity protection. The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Infrastructure highlights the need to inform, consult, and engage with stakeholders to ensure that infrastructure planning and investments are informed by citizens’ needs.

Public infrastructure projects often involve large amounts of financial resources and take many years. They need to operate under regulations that contribute to optimising their lifespan and costs, assess risk exposure, and build resilience. The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Infrastructure highlights that a coherent, predictable, and efficient regulatory framework encourages investment in public infrastructure, and ensures the delivery of ongoing improvements in the quality of infrastructure services.

Integrity risks can arise at every stage of the infrastructure life cycle, resulting in inappropriate use of resources or improper behaviour. During crises, when rapid responses are needed and some safeguards lifted, these risks may increase and require adequate firewalls. OECD recommendations on the governance of infrastructure and on public integrity (OECD, 2020, 2017) highlight the adoption of a risk-based approach to identify, mitigate, and address integrity risks such as fraud, collusion, corruption, undue influence or other unethical practices at each stage of the infrastructure life cycle and develop tailored control mechanisms.

The magnitude and urgency of the climate crisis calls for a new holistic approach to infrastructure planning and delivery. Achieving net-zero emissions in 2050 will require global annual investment in the energy sector investment to rise from USD 2.3 trillion in recent years to USD 5 trillion by 2030 (IEA, 2021). For transport‐related clean energy, the estimated rise needs to be from USD 75 billion per year to over USD 570 billion by 2030 (IEA, 2021). At the same time, infrastructure assets and operations will be increasingly exposed to the effects of climate change, which will require an integrated approach to building resilience. In this context, the OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Infrastructure highlights the need to strengthen the quality of governments’ approaches to delivering environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure, and to engage with the private sector and the civil society to work collectively towards achieving climate action objectives.