Abstract:

The report lays out the clear fiscal case for investment in inclusive, resilient and sustainable infrastructure – grey, green, blue and hybrid. Additional annual infrastructure investments of well over $1 trillion are needed until 2040 to achieve the SDGs, with more than 70% in emerging and developing economies (EMDEs). However, it is vital that new and existing infrastructure is resilient; according to the World Bank, disruption to infrastructure is already estimated to cost at least $390 billion a year across EMDEs. The extra cost of building resilience into these systems is only 3 percent of overall investment needs versus an overall net benefit of $4.2 trillion. Closing both the investment and resilience gap requires effective and aligned fiscal policy. Several authors have pointed to the significant fiscal benefits of such investments, both in terms of reduced costs of reconstruction and recovery, disruption to critical services and taxation, as well as well as for long term development, employment and growth.

Citation:

Ranger N., Weidinger M., Bernhofen M., Burke M., Lambin R., Puranasamriddhi A., Sabuco J., Spacey Martín, R. (2025). Enabling Adaptation: Sustainable Fiscal Policies for Climate Resilient Development and Infrastructure. Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford and Green Fiscal Policy Network
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