Green Infrastructure refers to any vegetative infrastructure system which enhances the natural environment through direct or indirect means. It describes the network of green spaces and water systems that deliver multiple environmental, economical and social values and benefits for sustainable urban development.
Here are the 4 important hardhatFACTS that hardhatPROFESSIONALS should know about Green Infrastructure.
1. EFFECTIVE JOB CREATOR
World Bank data indicates that renewable energy projects are more effective at long-term job creation than fossil fuel projects, while also being increasingly cost competitive. The International Renewable Energy Agency projects that accelerate investment in renewable energy could add almost $100 trillion to global GDP by 2050.
Here are some of examples:
The partners of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure (AGI) initiative, namely: the AfDB, the African Union Commission, AUDA NEPAD and Africa 50, will raise up to $500 million in capital towards early-stage development and project preparation to yield bankable greener infrastructure projects at scale and speed. The development of these projects is expected to create a total of 3.8 billion jobs across Africa, of which one million will be attributed to African women and women entrepreneurs.
The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has a green building policy in place that aims to have all new buildings have net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 and for all existing buildings to be net-zero carbon emitters by 2050 this shift to green buildings can potentially lead to creating 100 000 jobs in Johannesburg alone, according to CoJ Environment and Infrastructure Services MMC Michael Sun,citing the results of research conducted by cities climate change network C40 Cities.
2. GLOBAL PUBLIC SECTOR WELL POSITIONED TO LEAD GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES
Estimates suggest that if even 35% of the steel used in public construction projects was very low-emission, and 60% of the cement used was very low-emission, it could save the world 1.25 billion tons of carbon emissions a year – more than total global carbon emissions from commercial aviation in 2019.
Using government land to attract private capital to green infrastructure initiatives may be novel for some countries. But in the current environment of fiscal constraints, this incentive could help emerging economies achieve multiple objectives, from driving decarbonization goals to creating jobs and building the foundation for a more sustainable, resilient future.
3. BENEFITS OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TO CITIES
While cities only account for 2% of the world’s surface area, over half of the global population lives in an urban area. The sheer number of people who call cities their home means urban environments demand high consumption of food, energy, and water – producing more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions
Sustainable construction (building with renewable and recyclable resources and materials) requires committing to meet the current needs for housing, working environments and infrastructure without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own needs for shelter, work spaces and life-sustaining services.
Green infrastructure has a lot of other benefit for instance: nature can improve people’s mental and physical health; vegetation helps reduce building energy use by providing insulation and cooling; and plants and soils store carbon.It also increases resilience to environmental challenges like climate change, which has emerged as a major threat to cities the world over.
4 THERE IS A HEALTHY INVESTMENT APPETITE FOR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
Appetite for so-called ESG bonds (notes that meet environmental, social and governance criteria) is rising worldwide. Mexico sold 750 million euros ($872 million) worth of sustainable bonds this month while Saudi Arabia’s power utility issued $1.3 billion of green bonds. Emerging-market governments and companies have sold a record $10 billion of green, social and sustainable bonds in 2021.
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According to Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), which works solely in the $100-trillion bond market for climate change solutions, global green bond issuance rebounded in the second quarter of 2020, reached a record high of $269.5-billion by the end of 2020 and could reach $400-$450 billion this year.
Green infrastructure can reduce dependence on 'grey' infrastructure that can be damaging to the environment and biodiversity, and often more expensive to build and maintain.
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