Experts suggest investing in green infrastructure in the long term

The speakers of the first session of the

conference on 'Sustainable Development' were South Korea's Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future board member Dr. Recon Chang, CEO of Malaysia Minconsult Dr. Dennis Ganendra, Climate Change Center National Research Council of Thailand Advisor Robert Dobias, Climate Change and Co-Existing Worldwide (CCSEW) President Arup Rajouria presented their suggestions regarding sustainable development .

In Nepal, the development of infrastructure has not been done much and they suggested that while investing in it, instead of concrete infrastructure, green development should be connected with nature . They say that sustainable development will be possible if they invest in green infrastructure. They said that while developing infrastructure, it is necessary to go for infrastructure that does not affect nature, use low-carbon raw materials, and use mass transportation rather than private vehicles.

Board member of South Korea's Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future. Rekon Chung said that Gray Korea felt wrong that it only invested in infrastructure, and now it is going to focus on green infrastructure. When developing infrastructure, the social cost of carbon and climate change should also be considered. If we don't do this, we can't develop the infrastructure properly," he said. He says that many developed countries have realized about green infrastructure and are now going to improve it.

Robert Dobias suggested to make a policy that does not disturb the nature of future development . Likewise, Dennis said that some circularity is needed in the economy and the private sector should also move forward to invest in it using existing technologies. "There are many choices to develop green infrastructure, but we have to remove the obstacles and move forward," he said.

As the future is uncertain due to climate change, it is necessary to plan according to how the new infrastructure will make a difference to the existing infrastructure. It has also been pointed out that the private sector will play an important role in raising investment in infrastructure.

It has been emphasized that the return on green infrastructure is low, but the government should also support it from a policy level while raising investment in it. They suggested to advance green bonds in an integrated way to invest in green infrastructure. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal, President of Nepal Industry Confederation, who presided over the

session, said that the discussion emphasized that sustainable development is not a distant goal anymore, but an imperative for Nepal and the world. Stating that sustainable infrastructure is the capital of Nepal's long-term prosperity, he said that it is necessary to give priority to projects that are not only environmentally friendly, but also socially inclusive and economically practical. proposed five financial instruments including private equity infrastructure funds, local currency bonds and sovereign credit ratings to mobilize resources for

infrastructure.