Chapter 8: Financing the Transition to Green Infrastructure

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy and building a sustainable twenty-first-century society will mean remaking the infrastructure of our communities, industrial sector, transportation networks, and above all our energy system—which will require vast amounts of capital. This transition is a significant opportunity to lay the foundations for a sustainable future. There remains, however, an infrastructure finance gap as the demand for funding far exceeds the supply of capital required. Mobilizing the requisite $90 trillion in capital by 2030 will not be easy, but that is what it will take if investors are serious about achieving the carbon reductions necessary to prevent severe climate change and to mitigate irreversible environmental and economic damage.