German Marshall Fund for the US report chapter
July 2022
Climate change and infrastructure demand are two of the most pressing, and highly interrelated, global challenges. Advanced economies continue to edge toward meeting a modest goal of donating $100 billion per year to meet developing-country climate needs. Most of this funding, and any rising quantum, must go toward developing new physical assets for decarbonizing economies and protecting against natural disasters. A 2021 United Nations report estimated infrastructure was responsible for generating 79 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also accounted for 88 percent of necessary adaptation costs. Indo-Pacific countries face some of the most acute needs. Climate-responsive assets add $200 billion to the $1.5 trillion in annual infrastructure spending that the Asian Development Bank estimates the region needs to maintain growth and eradicate poverty.
