Global Sustainable Infrastructure
In December we saw several developments that demonstrate ongoing efforts to promote sustainable infrastructure projects, reflecting growing global focus on environmental and climate considerations in infrastructure development.
The Government of Costa Rica announced the creation of a Project Preparation Facility (PPF) to strengthen public investment and infrastructure resilience to climate change, support its decarbonisation efforts, and reinforce the ability of its financial sector to assess and manage climate-related risks.
The Infrastructure Sustainability Learning (ISLe) Initiative aims to accelerate the development of climate-smart infrastructure through virtual knowledge sharing. This initiative is part of the global effort to curtail global temperature rise and promote sustainable infrastructure development. It is expected to free up capacity among local government officials, engineers, developers and financiers, helping to solve a key barrier in the sustainability challenge.
Finally, The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) recognised organizations that have been with ISI for ten years as of December 2023, highlighting the growth and development of sustainable infrastructure initiatives.3 4 5
Sustainable Future of Food
The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change took place from November 30 to December 12, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It marked a significant turn in addressing food systems within climate action. Key highlights included the Global Stocktake acknowledging food’s critical role in climate response and the launch of the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF) led by countries like Norway and Brazil. These initiatives underscored the urgency of sustainable agricultural practices and climate-resilient food production. The United Nations FAO’s roadmap was also unveiled and is set to revolutionise agrifood systems, targeting their transition to carbon sinks by 2050. By focusing on areas like livestock and crop practices, the plan aligns with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree limit and aims to eradicate world hunger. More recently, Netflix’s documentary ‘You Are What You Eat’, released in January 2024, highlights the significant impact of diet on health and environment. Featuring an experiment with identical twins, it vividly demonstrates how different diets affect physical and mental health. This series is expected to amplify consumer awareness in the US and globally, encouraging a shift towards sustainable food choices. Its alignment with the FAO’s roadmap symbolises a key moment in progressing towards sustainable, health-focused food systems.6