An opinion piece by William Laurence explains why the era of massive infrastructure projects might be coming to an end. The author explains how it is becoming increasingly apparent that the environmental, social, economic and financial impacts of big infrastructure projects are intertwined and complex. This significantly increases the risk for investors and governments in pursuing such projects. While there are still massive infrastructure investments being planned, notably through Chinese investments and the Belt and Road Initiative, many of them are getting stalled, and large infrastructure plans are looking vulnerable in the implementation phases. The author argues that this actually may be a good thing to avoid destructive impacts on the natural environment and Indigenous communities.

While this no doubt holds true, at IISD we also believe that there is an increased need for sustainable infrastructure that contributes to well-being for people and the planet. For example, it is through better, more sustainable infrastructure that we can ensure access to water, energy, education and other basic services. Investment in sustainable infrastructure is also needed to deliver the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

To ensure that infrastructure projects are sustainable, the complexity of risks has to be measured more accurately and in an integrated manner. This is why IISD developed the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) tool. SAVi assesses the extent to which environmental, social and economic risks and externalities affect the financial performance of infrastructure assets. It also calculates the societal and economic benefits of sustainable infrastructure, such as employment, productivity, income and contributions to GDP. In short, it helps demonstrate how sustainable infrastructure brings better value-for-money for governments and taxpayers while offering better financial returns for investors.