For Jordan to achieve climate-compatible growth, governments need to
pursue fiscal and structural reforms that support low greenhouse gas emissions,
and resilient investments backed up by efficient, cost-effective climate
policies.
اضافة اعلان
Water scarcity,
rising temperatures, and extreme weather conditions should push Jordan to
become more resource-efficient and competitive. Investing in the greening of
infrastructure and services creates jobs and economic value. Upscaling requires
coalitions of public, private, and civil society actors with similar goals and
motivations.
The Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates of the global
infrastructure financing gap are roughly $6.3 trillion, with an additional $0.6
trillion per year needed to make investments compatible with climate goals
between now and 2030. The private sector could help close this financing gap
through increased use of public-private partnerships (PPPs). This requires that
policymakers anticipate and address complexities in risk allocation between the
public and private sectors.
When
governments, capital market investors, commercial lenders, and businesses, from
multinational corporations to small enterprises, work together toward climate
resilience and mitigation, the result will be a more robust world economy.
The financial
markets are only just beginning to see climate-related tailwinds, which means
that investors have the opportunity to gain a first-mover advantage.
The public
sector can direct investment and prevent possible bottlenecks by prioritizing
specific infrastructure projects. The public sector will be able to fill the
infrastructure gap only by mobilizing private sector expertise, and harnessing
innovative thinking, investment capacity, and finance. PPPs are key to
promoting investment in climate-smart infrastructure.
Taking advantage
of opportunities to invest in natural assets could help nations become global
innovators in a sustainable ecosystem. Scaling green PPPs can create a pipeline
of bankable infrastructure projects that can help deliver regional
infrastructure needs. By developing a robust PPP model for a single deal, and
replicating it, costs could be spread, the impact enhanced, and programmatic,
competitive tendering encouraged.
Investing in
water is investing in the future; green, climate-friendly investment entails
creating infrastructure that delivers clean drinking water and reliable sanitation,
as well as managing water resources and risks.
Co-locating supply and demand helps overcome the specific challenges of the agriculture value chain, and simultaneous development of production, storage, and transport, de-risk investment and drive self-reinforcing growth.
Water can
support more environment-friendly agriculture, such as hydro- and aquaponic
food production. Furthermore, the irrigation technology has integrated soil and
plant data to direct measured doses of water to optimize yield while reducing
water consumption and fertilizer usage by 40 percent.
Investing in
Jordan’s agricultural production and value chains can help serve a growing
local market and contribute to enhancing its climate resilience, increasing
competitiveness and inclusion, and ensuring medium- to long-term food security.
Co-locating
supply and demand helps overcome the specific challenges of the agriculture
value chain, and simultaneous development of production, storage, and
transport, de-risk investment and drive self-reinforcing growth.
A hydrogen
economy requires governments to establish hydrogen clusters: areas where
hydrogen production and consumption are developed, ensuring demand and supply
scale. The clusters will decarbonize energy uses that cannot be electrified.
Net zero energy mixes will include hydrogen on a far larger scale than today.
Global hydrogen use is expected to grow five to seven times, to account for
15–20 percent of energy demand, and global hydrogen investment in 2020–50 could
total $15 trillion.
Aqaba has an
excellent opportunity to turn this around and regain its competitive edge,
minimize its environmental impact, become a more attractive city to live and
work in, and develop a strong sense of character and identity in the region.
Climate change investment would accelerate mobility, environment, and
urbanization of Aqaba’s future livability and resilience.
These
opportunities could be spearheaded by start-ups seeking funding for
innovations. Differing return profiles create an opportunity for
diversification of investment in low-carbon, environmental goods and services
sectors, areas that support building the skills and knowledge of women, and
youth, to increase their employability and support the transition to green
employment.
Hamzeh S. Al-Alayani is a
board member of a Jordanian public-sector government investments management
company and a regular regional energy and industrial commentator.
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