This paper presents the foundation of research at EDHECinfra and Private Assets (EIPA) dedicated to decarbonisation and climate adaptation of infrastructure assets.

This research follows a recent paper (Manocha and Arnold, 2024), wherein we put forward a mapping of infrastructure activities (pillar 2 of TICCS) and the EU Taxonomy objectives of climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. Using this mapping, we identified infrastructure assets in the EIPA dataset for Europe that were eligible for inclusion in the EU taxonomy.

The results showed that the vast majority of EU infrastructure is eligible under the Green Taxonomy. In other words, assuming that the necessary investments are both technically and financially feasible, most infrastructure in the EU can be considered “green” in the future. While this is a first step in identifying sustainable investments, the taxonomy offers no further insight into how a given company, if eligible, can align with the taxonomy or how ineligible companies can transition and increase their suitability for inclusion.

This result leaves investors without enough information on the risks they face when it comes to alignment (and resilience). The objective of this study is to address this critical knowledge gap. Bridging it is essential to understand the practical steps and transitions strategies required for:

• Making infrastructure assets sustainable, aligning them with the objectives of initiatives like the EU Taxonomy;
• Navigating the transition to a low carbon economy; and
• Building resilience to a changing climate.

This study identifies the main strategies that each superclass can use to:

• Decarbonise
• Build resilience to floods, storms, extreme heat and extreme cold.

The strategies outlined in this study are exclusively focused on actions implementable at the asset level, deliberately excluding interventions at the national, regional, or local levels. In this way, we only consider actions within the control of asset managers and owners. The primary focus of this project is to identify strategies applicable to built assets. The selected strategies undergo careful consideration, chosen based on their fundamental level of technical viability, making them feasible for short- to medium-term adoption by asset owners. This intentional approach enables a focused examination of practical, asset-level interventions within the current technological landscape.

Paper published in collaboration with Rob Arnold, Sustainability Research Director, EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute, and Conor Hubert, Sustainability Research Engineer, EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute.