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.

Climate Resilient Infrastructure Assets

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.

National Infrastructure Investment Pipelines

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.

Masterclass on Climate Resilient Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships

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.

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.

13 September 2021

Global Center on Adaptation, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands, World Bank Group, and other partners.

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.

23 January 2021

Global Commission on Adaptation

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.

22 January 2021

Asian Development Bank and Global Center on Adaptation

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

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