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Forging New Paths With Sustainable Infrastructure
Trains, planes, and automobiles aren’t just how we get around. By ensuring the flow of goods and resources around the globe, they make modern life as we know it possible. While infrastructure has long lagged behind more glamorous sustainability projects such as consumer products and recycling, it has an outsized impact on the environment. Research shows that infrastructure is responsible for 79 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, and 88 percent of all adaptation costs (that is, the cost of adapting to the changing climate).1
Luckily, the world finally seems to be taking notice.
The United States gets serious about sustainable infrastructure
There are many examples of sustainable infrastructure around the world. Notably, Scotland has made enormous strides towards meeting the entirety of its electricity demands using renewable generation,2 while Singapore – already famous for its green construction – is making concerted efforts to convert its transport infrastructure to a clean-energy model.3 However, the United States’ recent commitment to sustainable infrastructure could well represent a watershed moment in this trend.
Following the passage of a landmark $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in late 2021, the Biden administration is working quickly to improve, adapt, and evolve the infrastructure of the world’s third most populous country.4 This was recently made clear with a new commitment to drastically expanding electric vehicle (EV) charging capabilities across the nation over a five-year period. Alongside this, the bill makes provision for additions and improvements to passenger rail and public transport – two major components of sustainable infrastructure.5
What it means
The United States certainly isn’t the first government to make a sizable commitment to sustainable infrastructure. But its very public pledge, exemplified by its EV charging plan, represents an enormous step in the global context, especially following the nation’s withdrawal from, and eventual readmission to, the Paris climate agreement. Following from the perceived antipathy to sustainability of the Trump administration,6 it appears to mark a clear desire from the Biden government to reassert its presence in environmental sustainability, and to lead by example. Only time will tell whether it can set a new trend for global sustainability efforts.
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- 1 Thacker S, et al. (2021). ‘Infrastructure for climate action’. Retrieved from United Nations Office for Projects Services.
- 2 (Mar, 2021). ‘Renewables met 97% of Scotland’s electricity demand in 2020’. Retrieved from BBC.
- 3 (Nd). ‘Singapore Green Plan 2030’. Retrieved from Green Plan. Accessed Feb, 2022.
- 4 Lobosco, K, and Luby, T. (Nov, 2021). ‘Here’s what’s in the bipartisan infrastructure package’. Retrieved from CNN.
- 5 (Nd). ‘President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law’. Retrieved from White House. Accessed Feb, 2022.
- 6 Denchak, M. (Feb, 2021). ‘Paris climate agreement: Everything you need to know’. Retrieved from NRDP.