Sustainable Infrastructure Investment

This book provides examples and suggestions for readers to understand how public investment decisions for sustainable infrastructure are made. Through detailed analysis of public investment in infrastructure over the last few decades in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Finland, the author explores how the decision-making processes for major public works spending, many of them requiring quite rigorous and detailed computational methodologies, can result in plans that underserve large portions of the population, are inequitable, and fail to efficiently preserve public property. Beginning with some of the commonly offered explanations for the slow pace of investment and repair in a supposedly prosperous society facing serious environmental challenges, the book then explores media’s role in shaping the public-at-large’s understanding of the situation and the unimaginative solutions put forward by politicians. It continues with some case studies of infrastructure investment, or lack thereof, including an exploration of competing uses for government funds. It concludes with some suggestions. It is aimed at a large readership of professionals, students, and policy makers in political science, urban planning, and civil engineering.

The continued growth of any nation depends largely on the development of their built infrastructures and communities. By creating stable infrastructures, countries can more easily thrive in competitive international markets. Sustainable Infrastructure: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice examines sustainable development through the lens of transportation, waste management, land use planning, and governance. Highlighting a range of topics such as sustainable development, transportation planning, and regional and urban infrastructure planning, this publication is an ideal reference source for engineers, planners, government officials, developers, policymakers, legislators, researchers, academicians, and graduate-level students seeking current research on the latest trends in sustainable infrastructure.

Investment in infrastructure is essential for promoting economic growth, and while countries in Asia have enjoyed higher rates of gross domestic product growth in recent years, the region remains severely deficient in the scale and quality of sustainable infrastructure. Moreover, population growth and climate change continue to put increasing pressure on the need for strategic and farsighted development, calling for policy makers to reevaluate infrastructure governance to ensure sustainable economic growth. Currently, in developing Asia, most investment in infrastructure comes from the public sector. However, with growing fiscal deficits and other budgetary constraints, it is essential to develop alternative sources of investment for infrastructure projects. This presents opportunities to tap into the private sector, which can play an instrumental role in minimizing the funding gap through the development of stronger, more transparent public–private partnerships (PPPs) and incentivizing sustainable infrastructure investment. This book provides a scholarly discussion on the importance of PPPs and approaches to unlock private participation in infrastructure investment based on lessons from across Asia. Among the proposed schemes are government tax incentives, development-based land value capture strategy under PPP land pooling, Viability Gap Funds, Project Development Facilities, and other guarantees. The book aims to assess the impacts and future of sustainable infrastructure investments and examines the role of governments in mobilizing financial resources and new models for unlocking private investment in sustainable infrastructure. This book consists of fifteen original chapters on the experiences of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) and a few other cases for promoting private investment in sustainable infrastructure. The fact that not much has been published previously on this theme makes this book a welcome and timely addition to the much needed knowledge on this subject. ‘The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylor fran cis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non- Commercial- No Derivatives 4.0 license.’

Building green is not only imperative to achieve global climate and development commitments in this “decade for delivery”, but will also be critical to sustain socio-economic development during the COVID-19 recovery. Private investment in particular is needed to bridge the infrastructure investment gap, given institutional investors’ large pools of long-term capital.

This report examines how to promote sustainable infrastructure investment. It discusses data needs for infrastructure investment and the current environment, social and governance (ESG) approaches before offering policy recommendations to help ensure that investors are better equipped to make investment decisions related to infrastructure assets.

Clear, comprehensive guidance toward the global infrastructure investment market Infrastructure As An Asset Class is the leading infrastructure investment guide, with comprehensive coverage and in-depth expert insight. This new second edition has been fully updated to reflect the current state of the global infrastructure market, its sector and capital requirements, and provides a valuable overview of the knowledge base required to enter the market securely. Step-by-step guidance walks you through individual infrastructure assets, emphasizing project financing structures, risk analysis, instruments to help you understand the mechanics of this complex, but potentially rewarding, market. New chapters explore energy, renewable energy, transmission and sustainability, providing a close analysis of these increasingly lucrative areas. The risk profile of an asset varies depending on stage, sector and country, but the individual structure is most important in determining the risk/return profile. This book provides clear, detailed explanations and invaluable insight from a leading practitioner to give you a solid understanding of the global infrastructure market. Get up to date on the current global infrastructure market Investigate individual infrastructure assets step-by-step Examine illustrative real-world case studies Understand the factors that determine risk/return profiles Infrastructure continues to be an area of global investment growth, both in the developed world and in emerging markets. Conditions continually change, markets shift and new considerations arise; only the most current reference can supply the right information practitioners need to be successful. Infrastructure As An Asset Class provides clear reference based on the current global infrastructure markets, with in-depth analysis and expert guidance toward effective infrastructure investment.

Post-crisis Growth and Development lays the groundwork for setting development priorities and advances the discussion among the G20, and non-G20 countries on development policy in infrastructure, trade, food security, financial inclusion, and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as they relate to strong, sustainable, and balanced global growth.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, global demand for infrastructure is booming. National plans around the world show that infrastructure is likely to provide the backbone for a resurgence in public expenditure, and to support growth in economies badly hit by the pandemic.As all the biggest powers and blocs (the EU, the US, China, and Japan) have recently announced their plans for climate or carbon neutrality, the room and need for green and sustainable infrastucture are greatly expanding. Decarbonisation and digitalisation will be underpinning this latest investment drive in infrastructure, with sustainability and ESG principles at its core. However, infrastructure expenditure will not come without risk: after the pandemic, the world will be left with the highest levels of public andprivate debt since World War II, and the sustainability of key investment decisions must be carefully evaluated.How to foster quality and sustainable infrastructure investment? What role for the private sector? What future for sustainable mobility? What kind of policies will countries adopt to reach carbon neutrality?