How do we get there? Infrastructure transition pathways are the broad actions that will create sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure
Through a large-scale research effort that examined global approaches to the climate transition and decarbonisation of infrastructure on behalf of the G20, the GI Hub has identified 15 transition pathways. These pathways are actions that align infrastructure development and delivery with global climate targets and SDGs.
From a climate perspective, the pathways address both mitigation (to reduce GHG emissions) and adaptation (to increase the resilience of infrastructure to the impacts of climate change). This is important given that much less investment is being directed to adaptation, and this is true across almost all infrastructure sectors.
The pathways look beyond decarbonisation to encompass all infrastructure sectors and subsectors, across all stages of the infrastructure lifecycle. We expect the transition pathways to advance and evolve as the climate transition accelerates, governments and industry develop more technological solutions, and infrastructure becomes more digitalised.
Currently, a major barrier to implementing the pathways is the shortfall of investment in sustainable infrastructure: the ‘sustainable infrastructure investment gap’. Roughly USD2.6 trillion is required annually through 2030 to meet the SDGs and stay on a path to reach net zero by 2050. That’s why our research also identifies effective and innovative mechanisms to finance low-carbon infrastructure and the climate transition.