Decarbonization of Indian Railways

Project preparation for sustainable infrastructure needs to be faster, greener and better to ensure sustainable development consistent with internationally agreed goals.

This report finds that growth strategies which fail to tackle poverty or climate change will prove to be unsustainable, and vice versa. A common denominator to the success of both agendas is infrastructure development.

About US$90 trillion in infrastructure investment is needed globally by 2030 to achieve global growth expectations, particularly in developing countries. To achieve this, infrastructure investment needs to be both scaled up and climate objectives need to be integrated due to climate risks.

This paper argues that India’s efforts to achieve rapid, inclusive and sustainable development have been hampered in the past by pervasive inefficiencies that arise from market, policy and institutional failures and weaknesses. Efforts to address these weaknesses in a comprehensive manner can significantly increase the pace of improvement in the well-being of the population while also better tackling environmental and climate risks.

India is experiencing an urban transformation. Given the rapidity of change and the long-lived nature of urban form and infrastructure, the decisions that India’s policy-makers take in the next 5–15 years will lock in its urban pathway for decades to come.

The renewable energy sector in India will require $189 billion in additional investment to meet its goal of 175GW by 2022. Institutional investors have the potential to bridge this gap.