Library | ESG issues
Buildings & Infrastructure
Buildings and infrastructure include physical structures and systems such as commercial buildings, roads, and energy networks. Sustainable infrastructure focuses on optimising and retrofitting existing assets while developing new ones that integrate environmental stewardship, social equity, and sustainable design. Investing in infrastructure can support sustainable development and ensure that all people have access to safe, affordable, reliable, and high-quality infrastructure.
Refine
131 results
REFINE
SHOW: 16
Expanding the investible market for adaptation: The value and path for institutional investors
This report examines the business case for institutional investors to prioritise climate adaptation. It identifies a multi-billion dollar annual financing gap and outlines how resilience expertise enhances investment performance. A framework of recommendations is provided to help investors navigate asset, network, and economy-level resilience within the Australian context.
Extreme Weather Toolkit: Extreme Heat
A resource hub from Climate Central providing data, analysis, and visualisations on the trends and local impacts of extreme heat, including the Climate Shift Index and urban heat island studies.
Collection of Open-Access CARMINE Publications
A comprehensive repository of open-access research and deliverables from the CARMINE project, providing advanced climate-risk assessment methodologies and case study data to support environmental resilience and informed financial risk analysis.
Atlas of Global Development 2026
An interactive data platform from the World Bank tracking 75 years of global progress across people, prosperity, planet, infrastructure, and digital themes.
Investing in tomorrow: The electrification opportunity
New Zealand households and businesses could save $10.7 billion annually by 2040 through electrification. This report details how replacing fossil fuel appliances and vehicles with electric alternatives, supported by solar and batteries, reduces total energy use by 70% and provides cumulative national savings of $95 billion while substantially cutting emissions.
Urban planning for the circular economy: A spatial turn in theory and practice
This report examines how urban planning can operationalise the circular economy by addressing spatial dimensions. Drawing on European city experiences, it explores circular developments, infrastructure, land management and multi-level governance. It provides strategic directions for integrating circularity into core planning instruments to support systemic, territorially grounded transitions.
Weekly cat report: Review of global catastrophe activity
This series provides a weekly review of global catastrophe activity, covering meteorological events and preliminary financial loss estimates. It tracks natural disasters such as severe convective storms, flooding, and landslides across multiple regions to assist in risk assessment. This report is part of a regular series.
Optimal flood insurance in a second-best world: Fiscal spillovers, reclassification risk and moral hazard
This report evaluates the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program's transition to risk-based pricing. It finds that unintended consequences, such as increased ex post disaster spending and household exposure to climate uncertainty, outweigh moral hazard costs. The authors conclude that an optimal premium subsidy of 52% is required.
Disaster resilience scorecard for cities: Addendum for extreme heat risk management
An addendum to the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities, this tool helps local governments assess and strengthen extreme heat risk management. It uses 18 indicators to evaluate governance, infrastructure, and financial planning to build long-term urban resilience against rising temperatures.
Climate change mitigation and adaptation: What works for data centres? Part 3
This report evaluates climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for data centres using the ClimaTech database. It assesses the effectiveness of decarbonisation across three scopes and analyses resilience measures for flood, storm, heat, and wildfire risks, providing quantitative performance metrics for various technological solutions.
ASEAN sustainable finance state of the market series
This series by the Climate Bonds Initiative examines the development of sustainable finance markets across ASEAN. It covers green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked debt instruments, alongside market structures, taxonomies, transition finance and policy developments supporting sustainable capital markets across the region.
The climate premium on commercial real estate insurance
This report analyses rising insurance costs in the United States commercial real estate sector. It finds that premiums have surged 154% since 2017, driven by climate risk and reinsurance trends. High-risk markets face significant valuation erosion, with multi-family properties particularly impacted by increased financial burdens and pricing volatility.
The price and distributional impact of flood risk disclosure: Evidence from US housing platforms
This research quantifies the impact of property-level flood risk disclosure on US housing prices and demographics. Homes labelled with 'extreme' risk saw a 3.3% price discount. Disclosure caused significant resorting, with lower-income, older, and FHA-financed buyers increasingly purchasing high-risk properties primarily due to reduced transaction prices.
Asset-level physical climate risk register template
The Asset-level physical climate risk register template, developed by the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), enables consistent documentation of climate hazard assessments. It helps investors and managers track risks such as floods and wildfires at the individual asset level to support financial reporting and resilience planning.
The role of investors in measuring and achieving lower embodied carbon in real estate and infrastructure
This guidance outlines strategies for Australian investors to manage and reduce embodied carbon in real estate and infrastructure. It details a maturity pathway from benchmarking to achieving reductions, highlighting mandatory reporting requirements and strategic benefits. The document provides specific actions for equity and debt investors to align with net-zero pathways.
Clean cooking in Africa 2026: Progress report
This report evaluates progress toward universal clean cooking access in sub-Saharan Africa. While delivery rates have tripled since 2010, population growth continues to outpace gains. The analysis covers investment trends, infrastructure development, and the impact of the 2026 energy crisis on regional fuel supply chains.
