Infrastructure and NBS
The infrastructure gap presents a challenge for countries and people – but it also provides an opportunity to mainstream climate change through all new infrastructure planning and investments going forward. In addition to financing resilient infrastructure assets, it is increasingly important for countries to ensure that investments translate into resilient and equitable infrastructure services.
Our Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) Program works across three business lines to help countries assess, plan and finance climate-resilient infrastructure investments:
Contact Information
For more information on this program, or to get involved, please contact:
Adele Cadario
Program Lead, Infrastructure & Nature-Based Solutions
infrastructure@gca.org
Goal for 2025
Reduce climate risks for 100 million people by systematically mainstreaming climate resilience and integrating nature-based solutions into infrastructure planning, financing, design, operations, and maintenance to ensure new and existing infrastructure is climate-resilient.
The cost of climate change on infrastructure is incurred through direct damages to physical assets as well as indirect damages from disruptions to social and economic services delivered through physical assets.
GCA produces high-resolution climate risk analytics to understand the exposure of physical assets to climate change and related hazards, and then translates this exposure into operational metrics that can be used to quantify the risk for infrastructure investments. Combining state-of-the-art analytical tools, engineering expertise, global best practices, and lessons learned from countries that have already addressed climate risk in similar assets, we help identify and prioritize adaptation solutions into infrastructure investments in a participatory environment, promoting climate risk dialogues with key stakeholders in the country.
Nature-Based Solutions play a key role in enhancing the resilience of infrastructure systems. The investment case for adaptation solutions rests on whether the net-economic and financial return of the investment justifies the cost of implementation. Our goal is to develop specific analytical work that advances the scalability of Nature-Based Solutions for climate-resilient infrastructure systems all over the world.
While climate-proofing infrastructure assets is critical, countries also need to prioritize and sequence investments to allocate limited budgets effectively towards protecting existing infrastructure assets and ensuring that new assets are designed to be climate resilient. Prioritizing adaptation needs at a national scale is critical because countries cannot finance the cost of climate-proofing all infrastructure assets all at once.
GCA helps countries stress-test national infrastructure networks to quantify the consequences of exposure to climate risk through direct damages and indirect disruptions to services. The analysis of indirect disruptions includes a focus on women and vulnerable communities, who are affected by the disruption in infrastructure services in distinct ways. This analysis helps countries prioritize adaptation investments and influences the country investment pipelines of International Finance Institutions and other financing partners.
We have developed the roadmap for resilient infrastructure in Ghana, and we are scaling it up in Bangladesh, Kenya and Senegal through national university partners to ensure the technical capacity for this analysis is embedded within the countries. The national stress tests will also support the design and implementation of the International Monetary Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust in selected countries.
Ghana: Roadmap for Resilient Infrastructure in a Changing Climate
The proposed 35 prioritized adaptation options provide opportunities for funders and investors to invest in Ghana’s future, offering impactful, evidence-based adaptation projects and enabling environment interventions backed by robust research and analysis.
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are a key entry point for integrating climate adaptation and resilience into infrastructure projects. However, governments and practitioners lack the information to bring knowledge on PPPs and climate risks together to inform their projects.
The Masterclass aims to build the upstream capacity of practitioners to integrate climate resilience into infrastructure PPPs by identifying key entry points across the PPP project cycle for integrating resilience and providing tools and knowledge for practitioners. Masterclasses support capacity building in our projects, such as the African Development Bank-financed Uganda Rail Project and the Desert to Power Initiative. The delivery of Masterclasses is embedded through national university partners.
The Masterclass is a key component of the Knowledge Module on PPPs for Climate Resilient Infrastructure, developed by GCA together with the World Bank Group, African Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and other technical partners. Designed to build the capacity of PPP practitioners to mainstream adaptation and resilience into infrastructure PPP projects, the Knowledge Module also includes the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Handbook and the Certified Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Officer (CRIO) program.
We are providing upstream technical assistance and capacity-building programs in Africa and Bangladesh to integrate adaptation and resilience into PPP projects and transfer knowledge. This will drive long-term change in the systems that design and finance infrastructure investments.
Projects
News
Blog
Videos
Technical and Whitepapers
Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Officer Handbook
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are a key entry point to integrate climate adaptation and resilience into infrastructure projects and address climate change impacts. Yet, while there is a strong body of knowledge on guidance for PPPs and literature on climate risks, resilience, and infrastructure, countries lack information on how to bring those two fields together.
Innovative Financing Models for Private Sector Investment in Nature Based Solutions for Adaptation
The Global Commission on Adaptation’s Action Track on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) hosted a virtual workshop on Innovative Financing Models for Private Investment in Nature-Based Solutions for Adaptation on 14 October 2020.
A System-wide Approach for Infrastructure Resilience
A revolution in the planning, design, financing, and delivery of infrastructure is urgently needed to meet the acute needs of our warming world.
Events
Nairobi Nature Positive Engineering Roundtable
1 November 2024
Nairobi, Kenya
GCA-University of Nairobi Climate Adaptation Changemakers School 2024
28 October 2024
Nairobi, Kenya
Multi-Stakeholder Engagement on the Kenyan National Roadmap for Infrastructure Adaptation Investments
15 August 2024
Nairobi, Kenya
Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue for AfDB Comoros Maritime Corridor Development and Regional Trade Facilitation Project
13 August 2024
Moroni, Comoros
GCA-UCAD Climate Adaptation Changemakers School 2024
24 June 2024
Dakar, Senegal
Youth Adaptation Forum on Nature-based Solutions and Climate-resilient Infrastructure
8 May 2024
Global
Climate Adaptation Changemakers School
25 March 2024
Nairobi, Kenya
Masterclass on Climate- Resilient Infrastructure PPP
14 October 2023
Bangladesh
Stakeholder Workshop: Enhancing Coastal Resilience Through Nature-Based Solutions
26 September 2023
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nature-Based Solutions and Urban Climate Resilience: Global Experiences and Local Actions
31 August 2023
Incheon City, Republic of Korea
Dialogue on Climate Risks in Investments: Kenya Lesseru – Kitale and Morpus – Lokichar Road Upgrading Project
23 June 2023
Global
Dialogue on Climate Risks in Investments: Kampala-Malaba Meter-Gauge-Railway
21 June 2023
Global
Dialogue on Climate Risks in Investments: Transgabonaise Road PPP Project
20 June 2023
Hybrid
Dialogue on Climate Risks in Investments: WBG Southern Niger Connectivity Road
19 June 2023
Hybrid
Multi-Stakeholder Climate Risk Dialogue: Kenya-South Sudan link road refurbishment project
25 April 2023
Nairobi, Kenya
Masterclass for Scaling Up Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships in Africa
25 April 2023
Global
Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Climate Risk Assessment and adaptation options prioritization for the Transgabonaise road corridor PPP project
19 April 2023
Global
Masterclass on Mainstreaming Climate Resilience Into Public-Private Partnerships in Africa
16 March 2023
Accra, Ghana
Workshop on Climate-Resilient Infrastructure
29 January 2023
BRAC Centre, 75 Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh
3rd Roundtable Exchange on Integrating Adaptation into Infrastructure Pathways
9 November 2022
Global
Inter-ministerial Dialogue on Climate-Resilient Infrastructure
22 September 2022
Department of Environment, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2nd Roundtable Exchange on Integrating Adaptation into Infrastructure Pathways
22 September 2022
Global
Multi-Stakeholder Climate Adaptation Dialogue for the Port of Banjul 4th Expansion Project
4 July 2022
Global
Roundtable Exchange on Integrating Adaptation into Infrastructure Pathways
30 June 2022
Virtual
Multi-Stakeholder Climate Risk Dialogue: Banjul Port 4th Expansion Project Climate Risk Assessment
30 May 2022
Global
Accelerating Adaptation Investments for Resilient Infrastructure
6 May 2022
Global
Adaptation Dialogues for Africa: Strengthening Climate Resilience of Infrastructure in Africa
31 March 2022
Global
Financing Climate Resilient Infrastructure in Ghana: Ministerial Dialogue and Report Launch
24 March 2022
Accra, Ghana
Masterclass on Climate-Resilient Public-Private Partnerships
13 September 2021
Global
Contact Information
For more information on this program, or to get involved, please contact:
Nitin Jain
Global Program Lead for Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions
infrastructure@gca.org