In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been much discussion about an ‘infrastructure-led recovery’ and a ‘green recovery’ across the globe.
Infrastructure can play a direct role in stimulating economies and maintaining employment. In addition, it is more important than ever to use this stimulus investment to enable a sustainable recovery – environmental, social and economic sustainability – in a global effort to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.
Governments will need to strike a difficult balance between speed of getting money into the economy and meeting sustainability objectives – environmental and social; and balancing the longer term economic benefits of infrastructure investment with immediate needs to spend on healthcare and vaccinations, employee and business support.
In this report, we set out a number of short and long term policies and principles for consideration by governments planning infrastructure investments as an economic stimulus, including how to integrate sustainability into investments and how to afford it.
"Investment decisions must support broader economic, environmental and social outcomes, including sustainability and equity."