QUICK TIPS

© Roel Slootweg

INTEGRATING THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE

CHANGE IN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
Infrastructure is the essential foundation for economic and towards greener infrastructure for the future, summarised as
social activities and, according to the G20 Quality Infrastructure “building back better”. This requires the combined efforts of
initiative, covers energy, transport, water, cities and digitalisation1. government and the private sector.
The next decade is a ‘use it or lose it’ moment in economic history
Infrastructure is cross-sectoral and can be spatially differentiated
with infrastructure investments surpassing the total current
into ‘nodes’ or ‘hubs’ with concentrations of activities and “linear
stock. Given the long lifespan of such investments, we must
infrastructure” connecting these hubs. This note provides quick
ensure projects not only avoid negative impacts (do no harm),
practical tips to maximise opportunities for environmentally
but are also low-emission, resilient, sustainable and circular (do
sustainable and climate compatible infrastructure projects and
good). It is important to realise that environmental and social
investments. It addresses project development (preparation,
screening, impact assessment, monitoring and management -
appraisal and procurement), implementation (construction,
legal requirements and standard practice in all countries to avoid
operation, maintenance) and decommissioning; for policy
negative impacts - are not enough to implement the objectives
and planning, including the use of strategic environmental
of the green deal. This document aims to go beyond standard
assessments, reference is made to other - sector-specific - Quick
practice and provide guidance on how to do more good, or rather,
Tips.
do it right. In this respect, the post COVID-19 green recovery
provides a unique chance to engage in transformative actions

Environmental concerns related to infrastructure

‣ Direct impacts: infrastructure construction and operation is associated with drivers of environmental change:
land conversion, fragmentation of natural habitats (e.g. barrier effect of dams or roads), extraction of minerals,
disturbance (e.g. noise, hydrology, erosion), waste, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (from vehicles, ships,
industry).
‣ Indirect consequences: new roads provide unintended access to unexploited natural areas (logging, poaching, land
conversion) or may induce people to migrate into more vulnerable areas (e.g. floodplains); construction and use of
transport infrastructure leads to the spread of communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS, COVID-19) and invasive plants or
animals; reservoirs attract unplanned settlers; above-surface oil pipes are susceptible to illegal tapping or terrorist
attacks, etc.
‣ Natural hazards and climate vulnerability: hard infrastructure may be susceptible to damage or failure due to
natural hazards exacerbated by climate change (extreme weather events, sea level rise, changing temperatures)
leading to network unreliability and disruptions of value chains.

¹
Digitalisation is addressed in a separate Quick Tips document.
 © European Union
© AECID
Work progress at waste water treatment plant in Masaya Water supply in Yaoundé – EIB/AFD project

‣ Transboundary impacts: infrastructure projects in cross-border river basins/watersheds and infrastructure corridors
can have profound impacts in neighbouring and up- or downstream countries. Differences in regulations, policies
and economies often complicate a shared approach to address environmental issues.
‣ Lock-in and stranded assets: Given the long lifespan of infrastructure and its relative inertia to transformative
action, failure to invest in clean, sustainable and resilient infrastructure can lock countries into a greenhouse-gas
and resource intensive development pathway or risk the stranding of assets before the end of their lifespan.

Five fundamental questions to ask of each proposed project

1. How does the project impact the environment and climate? This is usually covered by Environmental and Social
Impact Assessment (ESIA).
2. How does the project depend on the environment? Projects may depend on ecosystem services (e.g. hydropower,
inland shipping, cities depend on sufficient water stored or supplied by ecosystems). This is an ESIA requirement
with an increasing number of IFI’s.
3. What risks does environmental degradation and/or climate change and/or natural hazards create for a project?
This relates to climate resilience. Climate Risk Assessment, standalone or as part of an ESIA, provides relevant
early information.
4. How can a project improve the environment? This positive planning approach reflects the transition agenda of the
European Green Deal. Moving from “do no harm” to “do good”.
5. What alternative solutions exist for the problem addressed by the project? Which alternative contributes most
to the Green Deal objectives?

Mainstream sustainability and resilience as early as possible

‣ Pro-actively identify opportunities to integrate environmental, climate and disaster risk reduction objectives
into identification, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of infrastructure projects; integrate
environmental criteria into project selection and prioritisation (e.g. using carbon prices or considering environmental
externalities in cost-benefit analyses, multi-criteria analyses).
‣ Ensure that infrastructure projects are linked to spatial and/or land-use plans, which preferably are aligned to
climate, environmental, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction objectives.
‣ Engage early with public, private and civil society stakeholders; plan for the disclosure of environment-related
information (transparency), also to investors and ensure accountability.
‣ Apply an early ESIA, including a Climate Risk Assessment, before or coinciding with economic analysis in the
identification phase, so it can contribute to the comparative analysis of options/alternatives.

Promote the ‘greening’ of infrastructure

‣ Green infrastructure: create networks of (semi-)natural or constructed nature that provide a variety of ecosystem
services ranging from flood storage and coastal defence, to nature protection, combatting urban heat islands or
providing recreational space.
‣ Nature-based solutions: use natural ecosystem processes to address issues traditionally solved by hard (or grey)
infrastructure (e.g. coastal defence, wind breaks, water purification, sediment traps) in order to be more flexible and
resilient (“green where possible, grey where necessary”).
 Roel
©© Slootweg
credits
‣ Retrofit green elements into existing project design, including disaster resilient features and mitigation measures
such as animal under- and overpasses in roads, fish ladders in dams and weirs, green roofs to combat heat stress,
integrating solar panels in infrastructure, adding flood resilience to urban structures.
‣ Apply a circular economy and multifunctional approach to designing infrastructure in order to favour the efficient
use and reuse of assets and resources.

Apply the mitigation hierarchy to infrastructure projects

‣ Contribute to Green Deal objectives on biodiversity, climate, and environmental sustainability.
‣ Avoid negative and enhance positive impacts by alternative design, location (avoid sensitive areas), technology, and
timing (avoid fish spawning season for dredging and construction).
‣ Mitigate impacts if avoidance is impossible, by adding elements (noise barriers, sediment traps), or by on-site
restoration and rehabilitation of ecosystems or natural resources after temporary disturbance (during construction).
‣ Compensate (offset) impacts that cannot be mitigated. Biodiversity offsets are measurable conservation outcomes
that result from actions designed to compensate for significant, residual biodiversity loss, based on the polluter
pays principle. Offset programmes aim to deliver No Net Loss (of a habitat, species, ecological status, ecosystem
services), or preferably a Net Gain.
‣ Screen for ESIA: if required the proponent provides an ESIA explaining how the mitigation hierarchy is applied, and
including an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP).

Create climate resilient infrastructure (adapt to climate change)

‣ Avoid a narrow focus on resilience of assets only, but also include the resilience of services provided by
infrastructure networks, and of infrastructure users.
‣ Integrate climate-proofing and disaster resilience in the design of the infrastructure (e.g. Including disaster resilient
building codes/design standards in infrastructure development). A Climate Risk Assessment can be useful in this
regard (for example, backup capacity to avoid paralysing a whole system, enhanced maintenance and repair
capacities).
‣ Develop emergency preparedness plans and disaster risk reduction strategies in relation to key infrastructure
assets in line with local and/or national Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies.

Design for low-emission (climate mitigation) and resource efficient (circular)

infrastructure:
‣ Opt for energy-efficient, low-carbon infrastructure and building materials, and ensure that these considerations are
included at the start of the planning and design process.
‣ Apply circular principles to designs and material choices, including durability and adaptability, in order to optimise
material use and reduce waste and emissions throughout the life cycle of the project.
‣ Minimise the transport of materials over long distances, minimise the energy requirements of construction
techniques.
‣ Wherever possible, switch to low-carbon, renewable sources of energy to power infrastructure.

Promote green procurement

‣ Include environmental criteria in tender evaluation procedures (e.g. carbon intensity of bids, projected impact on use
of resources, local air pollution or biodiversity).
‣ Incorporate environmental, including climate change risks/impacts into qualification and selection criteria, technical
specifications, standards, KPIs, and contractual obligations.
‣ Require tenderers/proposers to submit an ESMP, including proven capacity to implement. This normally results from
an ESIA and should become part of the contractual provisions.
‣ Link payments to environmental performance; and apply penalties for breaches of environmental obligations.
‣ Require private and state-owned enterprises to follow internationally-accepted Responsible B usiness Conduct
standards and adopt green supply chain management.

Contribute to international environment and climate commitments

‣ Verify how the proposed activity contributes to disaster risk reduction and the Rio Conventions (See Guidance on
activities that qualify for Rio Markers for inspiration) and seek opportunities to secure the relevant markers.

Integrate environment and climate change in investments

‣ Blending can help achieve the Green Deal objectives: consider using a grant to cover the additional cost of
improving a project and ensuring that it is fulfilling its potential to improve long-term sustainability, and embrace
the Green Deal (shifting from “do-no-harm” as the bare minimum to “do-good”).
‣ Ensure that environmental and social safeguards used by lead and intermediary financial institutions are up to
EU standards and promote green public procurement in contracts.
‣ Promote sustainable finance and the use of the EU taxonomy on sustainable finance, in order to integrate
sustainability considerations into financial policies and investments and mobilise finance for sustainable and green
infrastructure.

Further information and support:

‣ G20 Quality Infrastructure with Quality Infrastructure Principles; OECD Reference Note on Environmental and
Social Considerations in Quality Infrastructure;
‣ Global Infrastructure Hub and Quality Infrastructure Investment Database
‣ OECD, 2018, Climate-resilient Infrastructure. OECD Environment Policy Paper No. 14.
‣ OECD Compendium of Good Practices for Quality Infrastructure Investment
‣ EU Green Public Procurement page, including Criteria for Road Design, Construction & Maintenance; Green
Procurement; Circular Economy
‣ Designing buildings in the context of the circular economy
‣ Guidelines “Integrating the environment and climate change into EU international cooperation and development”.
‣ OECD DAC Guidance on Rio markers for climate for works that qualify for Rio markers.
‣ EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan and taxonomy for sustainable activities - Works in view of the establishment
of an EU classification system for sustainable activities, i.e. an EU taxonomy.
‣ LIFELINES. The Resilient Infrastructure Opportunity, World bank Group* All documents are available on
capacity4dev (public groups: Environment, Climate Change and Green Economy)

* All documents are available on capacity4dev (public group: Environment, Climate Change and Green Economy)

Contact INTPA and NEAR Environment & Climate Change Mainstreaming Facility:
INTPA-GREENING-FACILITY@ec.europa.eu | NEAR-GREENING-FACILITY@ec.europa.eu