Pathways to create Circular Infrastructure

Developing circular infrastructure will significantly help us realise net zero

In 2021, as part of the G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) agenda, the GI Hub mapped existing data on CO2 emissions to infrastructure sectors, with a view to estimating the global embodied emissions attributed to economic and social infrastructure. This research indicates that economic and social infrastructure is responsible for 70% of all GHGs emitted globally, 18% of which are embodied emissions from infrastructure. The breakdown of embodied and operational emissions by material, sector, and source as a percentage of infrastructure emissions is shown in Charts 1 and 2.  Other analyses put infrastructure’s contribution to emissions even higher; the UN Environment Programme has reported infrastructure is responsible for 79% of GHGs

Embodied emissions are the emissions generated from the production of materials used in infrastructure, while operational emissions are the emissions generated from the use of the infrastructure such as those from electricity use in buildings or from vehicular use of road infrastructure.  The production of steel and cement are the two largest contributors to infrastructure’s embodied emissions. Embodied from infrastructure can be addressed by applying circularity 6R principles.

“The 1.5°C Paris Agreement target can only be achieved by combining renewable energy and energy efficiency with other approaches, including circular economy.” Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Case studies and examples of circular infrastructure development

To explore examples and gather ideas for approaches to circular infrastructure development and financing, visit our Knowledge Hub for a compendium and library of case studies and other resources.