The infrastructure decisions nations make today will set the stage for development for years into the future, which is why it is important to make sustainable, climate-friendly decisions now, according to a report Thursday by The New Climate Economy. “The challenge is urgent: the investment choices we make even over the next 2-3 years will start to lock in for decades to come either a climate-smart, inclusive growth pathway, or a high-carbon, inefficient and unsustainable pathway,” the report says.
The replacement of aging infrastructure and development of new infrastructure globally is expected to draw Cost $90 trillion over the next 15 years, according to the report. Ensuring that the infrastructure is compatible with goals to address climate change will raise those costs a little, but “the additional up-front costs can be fully offset by efficiency gains and fuel savings over the infrastructure lifecycle,” The New Climate Economy said.
