Coming together for the seventy-first session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, UNECE's highest decision-making body, member States have reaffirmed the need for resilient infrastructure and the importance of multilateral cooperation.
Discussions underscored that building the resilient infrastructure needed to protect people and the environment, and ensure access to services, requires more than just engineering and cannot be built by a single sector alone.
UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean stressed that "the future of infrastructure depends - to a great degree - on the quality of regulatory, policy and investment decisions we make today". In the context of the UN80 initiative announced by the UN Secretary-General, she highlighted work envisioning a UNECE that is fit for the future, and emphasized that "under member States' direction, UNECE will face complex challenges head-on - from economic uncertainty to environmental pressures and tensions - and adapt by prioritizing its work, making operations more efficient, and becoming nimbler and more resilient."
Infrastructure
Heads of delegations showcased initiatives from their countries and shared experiences and good practices to advance climate action and resilient infrastructure.
Among many examples were disaster-resilient urban construction in Türkiye, heat-resistant bridges and motorways in the Netherlands, a national roadmap for infrastructure resilience in Moldova, incorporation of climate projections in infrastructure planning in Slovenia, shifting road freight to rail in Lithuania, the use of UNECE's PIERS methodology to evaluate and lower infrastructure investment project risks in Kyrgyzstan, financing development of nature-based solutions such as wetlands and forests in Germany, and prioritization in Armenia of realizing women's potential to strengthen infrastructure resilience, especially in the areas if ICT and digitalization.
Roundtable discussions provided a platform to discuss ways to integrate climate resilience into the entire infrastructure lifecycle and to ensure that these actions support inclusive, sustainable development objectives. Member States shared their experience and highlighted areas for further action, including related to UNECE instruments, where high-level statements stressed the need to continue UNECE's cross-cutting work to help develop infrastructure to withstand shocks, enhance connectivity, and advance development.
One example is UNECE's Multilateral Environmental Agreements, which strengthen resilience of all infrastructure, promoting transboundary cooperation, transparency, public involvement, and fostering green, low-carbon development and climate change adaptation. Countries including Slovenia and Hungary highlighted the Water Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health as practical instruments in this respect.
Countries also emphasized the importance of integrated approaches and multi-level governance - an approach echoed by EU Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra, who highlighted the need to plan for resilience at all levels, including the regional and local scales.
UNECE's work helps make these connections, including through the Forum of Mayors and support to urban development that promotes smart, safe, affordable solutions for resilient infrastructure in cities.
Governments further addressed how to scale up UNECE initiatives to address infrastructure needs that deliver long-term resilience and sustainability.
Action in the transport sector will be critical in this respect, where, as the UN platform for road, rail and inland water transport, UNECE supports adaptation of transport infrastructure and operations and promotes safe and efficient mobility and connectivity.
In parallel, collaboration with governments and industry helps incorporate clean energy solutions and develop energy systems that are efficient, resilient, and environmentally sustainable, from generation energy-efficient buildings and grids.
By forging efficient, green and digital trade solutions, UNECE contributes to resilient value chains and economic connectivity.
This cross-sectoral cooperation is complemented by cutting edge work on measurement and monitoring, which helps to track progress and sharpen policies.
Finance
The roundtables further explored ways to unlock financing and connect UNECE initiatives more closely to project financiers, drawing on existing initiatives. In particular, by promoting innovation and public-private partnerships, UNECE fosters collaboration that combines public resources with private sector capacities to identify and implement resilient infrastructure projects. Scaling up this work will be crucial, since an estimated annual investment of $6.9 trillion in infrastructure will be necessary by 2030 for the SDGs and Paris Agreement.
New bureau and decisions
Member States elected Italy to Chair the Commission for the next biennium, alongside Vice-Chairs Montenegro and Kazakhstan.
The Commission adopted various decisions, including 3 by consensus and 3 after a vote.
Additionally, countries took stock of progress made related to the theme of the past biennium "Digital and green transformations for sustainable development", and reviewed other UNECE activities.
