Infrastructure for sustainable development

Infrastructure systems form the backbone of every society, providing essential services that include energy, water, waste management, transport and telecommunications. Infrastructure can also create harmful social and environmental impacts, increase vulnerability to natural disasters and leave an un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature sustainability 2019-04, Vol.2 (4), p.324-331
Main Authors: Thacker, Scott, Adshead, Daniel, Fay, Marianne, Hallegatte, Stéphane, Harvey, Mark, Meller, Hendrik, O’Regan, Nicholas, Rozenberg, Julie, Watkins, Graham, Hall, Jim W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Disasters
Environmental impact
Infrastructure
Natural disasters
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Telecommunications
Waste management
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Summary:Infrastructure systems form the backbone of every society, providing essential services that include energy, water, waste management, transport and telecommunications. Infrastructure can also create harmful social and environmental impacts, increase vulnerability to natural disasters and leave an unsustainable burden of debt. Investment in infrastructure is at an all-time high globally, thus an ever-increasing number of decisions are being made now that will lock-in patterns of development for future generations. Although for the most part these investments are motivated by the desire to increase economic productivity and employment, we find that infrastructure either directly or indirectly influences the attainment of all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 72% of the targets. We categorize the positive and negative effects of infrastructure and the interdependencies between infrastructure sectors. To ensure that the right infrastructure is built, policymakers need to establish long-term visions for sustainable national infrastructure systems, informed by the SDGs, and develop adaptable plans that can demonstrably deliver their vision.Investing in infrastructure systems will lock-in patterns of development for future generations. This study finds that infrastructure either directly or indirectly influences the attainment of all of the Sustainable Development Goals, including 72% of the targets.
ISSN:2398-9629
2398-9629
DOI:10.1038/s41893-019-0256-8