Asia: Chance to make infrastructure climate-friendly

'As multilateral development banks, private sources and governments gear up to fill massive infrastructure gaps in Asia, we must not miss a unique opportunity', writes Vinod Thomas in an opinion piece in the Economic Times. 'This is the chance to make infrastructure climate-friendly'...

He continues that, global target since the Copenhagen and Cancun climate talks is $100 billion for climate finance by 2020. To be effective, he writes, climate finance must be integrated with infrastructure investment. The crucial question is how official and private financing can deliver local and global benefits by making infrastructure climate-harmonic.

He concludes that more funding for infrastructure can promote growth, but not by doing more of the same. Only a switch to low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure will sustain growth locally and globally. Vinod Thomas is Director-General, Independent Evaluation of Asian Development Bank