1. CLIMATE- RESILIENT
INFRASTRUCTURE:
GETTING POLICIES
RIGHT
Lola VALLEJO
Analyst– Climate Change Adaptation & Development
Environment Directorate, Climate Water and Biodiversity Division
10 November 2016
Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum
OECD Headquarters, Paris

2. • Global infrastructure investments needs:
USD 90 trillion for 2015-2030
• Climate-related disruptions:
– 2012 superstorm Sandy (US): 5.4 million
stranded commuters
– 2007 summer floods (UK): 350 000 people
without access to main water supply for 17
days
2
Making infrastructure climate resilient

3. • Construction of second runway at the Brisbane
airport in Australia 4.1 meters above sea level
• Construction of drainage infrastructure in
Copenhagen through a network of permeable
roads, greenspaces and waterways
• Modifying the maintenance regime of France’s
nuclear power plants to face summer heats
3
Examples of climate-resilient
infrastructure

4. • Research questions
– In which ways can governments ensure their
infrastructure is climate-resilient?
– What’s the current state of adaptation action?
• Focusing on national-level action in OECD
countries
• Building a framework for action
4
Scope

5. Overall findings
5
Policy levers How much are they
used?
Future challenges?
Evidence provision High Capacity-building
Accounting for climate
risks in projects financed
by governments
Low Transparency
Enabling resilience through
policy and regulation
Med Cost-effectiveness
Disclosure of climate risks Low Coordination with
financial sphere

6. • Screening and decision-support tools
– Prevalent in development banks: Multilateral (EBRD, Nordic
Investment Bank, ADB, WB), bilateral (JICA, AfD, KfW)
– Rare evidence in OECD domestic investment (EU structural
funds commitment, EIB)
• Contractual arrangements
– Belgium’s state and national railway operator (SNCB)
management contract
– Australian local governments infrastructure plans
6
Accounting for climate risks in projects
financed by governments
- Procurement/concession framework may be an obstacle… but hard to influence
- Several tools developed by those investing in most vulnerable countries

7. • Sectoral regulation
– Technical e.g. nuclear power in France, hydropower in
Switzerland
– Economic e.g. UK energy, rail and water sectors
• National and international climate-resilient standards
– Governance (ISO, UK, USA, Oz) or technical (Eurocodes)
– Led by industry (PIANC, CIBSE) or by public standards
institutions
– Mostly across sectors, but the specific ones focus on transport
(particularly road drainage)
7
Enabling resilience through policy and
regulation
- Growing use of national standards, which can take many shapes

8. • Increasing levels of action in OECD
countries for resilient infrastructure
– Urban areas: right scale for further innovation
• Lessons to be learnt on risk screening
from investments in developing countries’
infrastructure
8
Remaining questions