Infrastructure is key to climate action, says UNOPS chief ahead of COP26

As the 26th UN Climate Change Conference meets to discuss the climate emergency,  UNOPS- the UN’s infrastructure specialists – calls for radical changes to how infrastructure is planned, delivered and managed.

“Infrastructure is key to efforts to tackle the climate emergency. As the 26th UN Climate Change Conference brings the world together to discuss this defining issue of our time, UNOPS calls for radical changes to how we approach infrastructure, if we are to stop the worst effects of climate change. The infrastructure decisions made today will determine the quality of our common future. To ensure peace and prosperity for people and the planet, it is crucial that we make the right infrastructure choices now,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director, Grete Faremo. 

The call follows a recent report –  published by UNOPS, together with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the University of Oxford – that shows infrastructure is responsible for 79 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions and 88 per cent of all adaptation costs.