Geneva Forum for Sustainable Infrastructure

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22 March 2018 to 23 March 2018
Event Type: 
Partner Event
Location: 
Gland, Switzerland

On 22-23 March 2018, UN Environment, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) are hosting the Geneva Forum for Sustainable Infrastructure in Gland, Switzerland.

Infrastructure investment, if done right, can potentially contribute to the delivery of many SDGs. Farmers, for example, have no way of getting out of poverty if there is no transport facility connecting them to the market. Boys and girls can hardly get quality education without adequate lighting. Fighting climate change while ensuring sustainable energy for all requires a massive shift towards renewable energy systems. 

Infrastructure investments, however, can also pose significant challenges to the natural environment. Highway and railway projects, for example, can cut across wildlife habitats and other fragile ecosystems. Sea port construction can affect marine ecosystems. Dam projects can alter ecosystems and displace local population. Investments in fossil fuel energy projects, especially, coal-fired power generation, can undermine the gains from investment in renewable energy. 

An increasing number of infrastructure projects are expected to be built in many parts of the world in the decades to come, offering opportunities as well as challenges for sustainable development. By fostering a sustainable infrastructure community, this Geneva Forum will offer up-to-date science and policy tools for informing infrastructure development globally. 

This forum will share experiences and ideas of making infrastructure projects contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will start by placing infrastructure development in the context of the SDGs, followed by a discussion of the lessons learned from past infrastructure projects. A major part of the forum will be devoted to the sharing of cases illustrating the application of science and policy tools for making existing or new infrastructure sustainable, covering the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. An update of the most relevant tools for sustainable infrastructure investment will also be provided. The forum will end with a call for follow-up steps. 

The target participants are investors in infrastructure projects, stakeholders from countries where such projects take place, and representatives from institutions interested in the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The forum’s objective is to enable key stakeholders in infrastructure development to work together in an effort to turn infrastructure into a driver for delivering SDGs. 

For further information, please contact Mr.Rowan Palmer (rowan.palmer@un.org). 

 


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