Sustainable infrastructure systems are those that are planned, designed, constructed, operated and decommissioned in a manner that ensures economic and financial, social, environmental (including climate resilience), and institutional sustainability over the entire infrastructure life cycle. Sustainable infrastructure can include built infrastructure, natural infrastructure or hybrid infrastructure that contains elements of both.
To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050, significant investment in sustainable and resilient infrastructure is required. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that USD 6.9 trillion per year are needed up to 2050 for investment in infrastructure to meet development goals and create a low carbon, climate resilient future. According to the Global Infrastructure Hub, however, there is currently a multi-trillion dollar gap in these required investments, and evidence shows that the majority of investments continue to go into “business-as-usual” infrastructure.
During the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), which met in Nairobi in March, Members States adopted a resolution on Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure (UNEA/E.A.5/L.15). This new resolution builds on a 2019 UNEA resolution (UNEP/EA.4/L.5) by encouraging Member States to:
- implement the International Good Practice Principles for Sustainable Infrastructure;
- promote investment in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, natural infrastructure and nature-based solutions;
- cooperate internationally to strengthen frameworks, including for financing; and
- provide opportunities for engaging relevant stakeholders.
Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership
Launched in 2018, the Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership (SIP) is a platform to promote and support integrated approaches to sustainable infrastructure planning and development. SIP recognizes the centrality of infrastructure to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SIP conducts work through a lens of interdependence by considering how different infrastructure systems, sectors, phases, and governance structures all connect. This approach can help deliver optimal social, environmental, and economic outcomes of infrastructure development.
Three core goals:
- Raise awareness about the centrality of infrastructure for the 2030 Agenda.
- Develop and share new and existing normative and technical guidance and tools for integrating sustainability into infrastructure planning, investment, and delivery.
- Strengthen the technical and institutional capacity of developing countries to adopt and apply integrated approaches to infrastructure development, as a means of achieving the SDGs
For more information on the Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership, please visit the SIP home page on GGKP.
