Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat to the OECD Webinar “Green Infrastructure in the Decade for Delivery: Assessing Institutional Investment”, 14 January 2021
Mr. Miltiadis Makrygiannis, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General, attended the Webinar on “Green Infrastructure in the Decade for Delivery: Assessing Institutional Investment” organized by the Environmental Directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on 14 January 2021.
The webinar was based on the report, published by the OECD last October. The report provides a first-of-its-kind empirical assessment of investment in infrastructure by institutional investors domiciled in OECD and G20 countries. The report provides guidance on policy levers and priorities to scale-up institutional investment in green infrastructure.
The keynote speakers underlined that energy, water, transport, health and other infrastructure are critical for socio-economic development. Building green is not only imperative to achieve global climate and development commitments, but will also be critical to sustain socio-economic development during the COVID-19 recovery. Private investment in particular is needed to bridge the infrastructure investment gap, given institutional investors’ large pools of long-term capital. Yet, infrastructure suffers from an estimated annual investment gap of around USD 2.5-3 trillion globally. The on-going public health emergency is a telling reminder of the risks of underinvestment in infrastructure. Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis exacerbates the pressures on government budgets, revenues and debt that constrain public investment in many countries. Yet the need to mobilize private capital at scale towards critical infrastructure development is urgent.
During the Questions and Answers part of the webinar, it has been pointed that the establishment of more precise and consistent definitions of which investments are “green” could facilitate investment by giving confidence and assurance to investors. As governments and the private sector seek to ensure a green recovery, this is an opportune moment for green infrastructure development. However, it will take committed and innovative policies to expedite investment flows towards green infrastructure.