Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 9 November 2022 - The Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) and its partners have canvassed the best ways to ensure future infrastructure which connects countries is built around climate measures during a COP27 side event.

MCDF joined with Egypt’s Finance Ministry and other partners on 9 November during the ongoing international climate change meeting in Egypt to explore how to mobilize finance for climate-smart connectivity infrastructure.

The event was the culmination of a series of workshops held during the year which also included the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group, World Bank and World Resources Institute.

China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua was among a number of high-level speakers at the side event.

Developing countries currently face a dearth of adequate financing to upgrade the networks of bridges, roads, railways, ports, electricity grids and digital links necessary to improve living standards and drive growth if they are to have a chance of catching up with developed countries.

The side event showed it is possible to generate investments in connectivity infrastructure which at the same time is directed towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate resilience. It also found that Investments in climate-smart connectivity infrastructure can help spur COVID-19 recovery by creating jobs, stabilize supply chains, and improve resilience to natural disasters.

The four workshops leading up to the side event brought together a diverse range of experts from different countries who share a conviction that climate change considerations need to be embedded at the core of connectivity infrastructure design.

Upscaling climate-smart transport, for instance, is vital as it is the second fastest growing sector contributing to emissions after industry, with global transport demand set to double by 2050. Adapting transport systems for future climate shocks is also important. US$1 invested in infrastructure resilience for transport is estimated to equate to a net future benefit of US$4.

While the shipping industry is currently dominated by fossil fuels, one of the previous workshops investigated the use of hydrogen to shift maritime trade to zero carbon, along with the spread of “green corridors” to link ports using decarbonized coastal infrastructure.

‘’We all can acknowledge that sustainable transport systems (such as roads and railways) and smart infrastructure (like green ports and grid-connected renewable energy systems) are critical to achieving the Paris Agreement goals. In the last five years,  an average of 55% of the Bank's total commitments to climate action have been dedicated to climate adaptation, particularly building sustainable infrastructure,’’ stated Dr. Al Jasser.

With fossil fuel-based power currently accounting for over 75 percent of emissions, energy generation needs to be shifted to renewable sources.

Building power grid connections amongst countries with plentiful renewable resources and those that don’t offers another example of how climate-smart connectivity infrastructure can provide benefits to people and the planet.

The side event and preceding workshops are designed to strengthen global partnerships to generate new investment flows that address the twin challenges of climate change and the current lack of adequate funds to build sustainable infrastructure in developing countries.