In November 2020, the Senior Officials of the UN Environment Management Group (“EMG”) agreed to establish a Consultative Process on Sustainable Infrastructure to strengthen the coordination of UN-system support to Member States in this area of work. In this context, it was decided that there should be a follow-up to the 2019 EMG Nexus Dialogue on Sustainable Infrastructure for the SDGs and advancing EMG Members’ shared interest and expertise in sustainable infrastructure.
Against this background, the UN Environment Management Group, in close collaboration with the UN Environment Programme’s Sustainable Infrastructure Investment Team, the UN Development Programme and the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), will organize a Nexus Dialogue on “Investing in Natural Infrastructure”, with a proposed focus on how natural infrastructure can deliver on the SDGs while stimulating economies and building the resilience of infrastructure systems in the COVID-19 recovery context.
Length and date: 2 hours, 7 June 2022 (14:30 – 16:30, CET)
Introducing and welcoming by EMG Secretariat (Mr. Hossein Fadaei) and PAGE Secretariat (Mr. Asad Naqvi), outlining objectives and structure (10 minutes)
Investing in Natural Infrastructure
An EMG Nexus Dialogue
Convenor: EMG Secretariat
Facilitator: Mr. Steven Stone – Deputy Director, Economy Division, UNEP
Notetakers: UNEP and UNDP
Key Remarks: Mr. Ali Raza Rizvi - Head, Climate Change, IUCN (5 minutes)
Initial Expert Remarks (25 minutes)
- Ms. Midori Paxton - Head, Ecosystems and Biodiversity, UNDP
- Minister of Finance & Economic Planning, Rwanda - TBC
- Ms. Carmel Lev - Strategy and Partnerships Consultant, Global Infrastructure Facility
- Mr. Oliver Hillel - Programme Officer, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Mr. Todd Howland – Chief, Development, Economic and Social Issues Branch, OHCHR
- Mr. Brenden Jongman – Lead, Nature-based Solutions, World Bank
- Ms. Kantuta Conte - Network of Indigenous Youth of Latin America and the Caribbean
Panel discussion
Questions
- What are some specific financing structures and mechanisms needed to increase investments in natural infrastructure?
- How can we integrate discourse around natural infrastructure into existing and future COVID-19 recovery packages?
- What are the implementation challenges and opportunities to mainstream natural infrastructure into national infrastructure planning and investment policies?
- Who are additional stakeholders we need to engage to increase the inclusivity and resilience of the recommended solutions?
- What are three actionable next steps that the UN system can work towards advocating for- and investing in- natural infrastructure?
Concluding Remarks and Next Steps: EMG, PAGE (10 minutes)
In advancing the current EMG Consultative Process on Sustainable Infrastructure and building on the 2019 EMG Nexus Dialogue, the Nexus Dialogue on “Investing in Natural Infrastructure” is expected to contribute to the following specific outcomes:
- Identify specific financing structures and mechanisms to scale up natural infrastructure investments in priority countries and regions, including through MDBs such as the World Bank
- Propose long-term means of implementing the International Good Practice Principles for Sustainable Infrastructure among EMG members, including PAGE agencies, as per the outputs of the EMG Consultative Process on Sustainable Infrastructure
- Identify specific policy mechanisms through PAGE to engage governments investing heavily in infrastructure, in order to strengthen infrastructure’s alignment with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement through investment in natural infrastructure
- Contribute to implementation of the UNEA Resolution on Sustainable Infrastructure (UNEP/EA.4/Res.5), which calls to “promote nature-based solutions as key components of systems-level strategic approaches to infrastructure planning and development”