Climate Toolkits For Infrastructure PPPs

The delivery of new transportation infrastructure has come to a critical crossroad Sustainability, climate-change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience have become priorities for countries striving to meet their Paris Agreement commitments. These priorities impact planning, design, and operational decisions for new transportation assets, and transform the procurement and delivery of road infrastructure PPPs, adding a new set of considerations to the structuring phase. In line with global and national climate frameworks and policies, sustainable road infrastructure PPPs should support decarbonization of the transport sector by: promoting greener transportation modes; exhaust opportunities for energy/material conservation during construction and operation; incorporating design elements that create asset climate resilience; taking into consideration social inclusion aspects; and guaranteeing the safety of their users and the resilience of the communities they serve. Road-climate interaction goes both ways Road networks are already threatened by extreme weather events such as flooding, severe heat, and intense storms, experiencing costly climate-related impacts and leading to disruption and damage of roads, bridges, and other horizontal transport components. These impacts are projected to intensify in magnitude, duration, and frequency because of climate change. At the same time, road-based transportation systems are driving climate change with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result primarily from 10 motorized vehicles use and secondarily from construction, operation, and maintenance related activities. To stop this vicious cycle, it is important to account for the effects of climate change early during decision-making, when options and investment priorities are discussed. For example, investments in actions contributing to GHG reduction and incorporating nature based solutions (NbS) would positively impact the carbon footprints of roads, by encouraging a shift to low-carbon technologies and building resilience to climate change. Interventions to develop more resilient road networks that are better prepared to face the stresses caused by the changing climate include increasing dimensions and capacities, using new materials, building protective works, incorporating nature-based solutions, and adding redundancies. Depending on the types of hazards and assets, these options come at an initial construction cost premium when compared to traditional approaches. Hence, it is essential to perform a systematic assessment of climate risks and GHG emissions reduction targets in order to design the optimum climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. Climate considerations will impact project economics The decision to invest upfront in climate change resilience, adaptation and mitigation will depend on many criteria, including the current and future exposure of the road, the consequences of failure compared with the risk level that is acceptable to users, the lifecycle cost of savings (e.g., due to the reduced need for repairs, disruptions, etc.), and the overall social benefits to the community. In some instances, PPPs can confer certain benefits (e.g., more effective use of new materials or lowemissions equipment, or innovatively designed adaptation and mitigation measures) compared to traditional procurement. On the other hand, parameters such as “green” construction requirements or climate-change induced risks could affect the availability of private financing, especially when risk reduction options are limited and, in many cases, untested. Therefore, the costs and benefits of climate considerations, as well as the value for money (VfM) of procuring a road project as a PPP, should be checked at the early stages of project selection, in order to identify any potential weaknesses and make the necessary adjustments.

source :

https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099051723155518424/pdf/P1746330a9bba90960873404d3b4e4dbd8b.pdf