// SUSTAINABILITY: INFRASTRUCTURE
all the subjects they have made commitments on. They made their first infrastructure commitment at Brisbane in 2014 – the 28 infrastructure commitments made there accounted for 14% of the summit’s total. At Hangzhou in 2016, 4% of commitments were on infrastructure. The portion declined to 1% at the 2017 Hamburg Summit. At both 2018 Buenos Aires and 2019 Osaka, infrastructure took less than 1%, but from 2020 Riyadh until 2022 Bali it rose to 3%. No explicit infrastructure commitments were made at New Delhi in 2023 or Rio in 2024. DELIVERY The G20 Research Group has assessed G20 members’ compliance with nine priority infrastructure commitments of the total 56. It found that compliance averaged 70%, close to the G20’s overall 71% average. The first commitment analysed was made in 2014 at Brisbane, where the Global Infrastructure Initiative was launched. This commitment focused on developing strategies to mobilise long-term financing for infrastructure, and secured 98% compliance. In 2016, the two assessed commitments were on investing in the quality and quantity of infrastructure and endorsing the Global Infrastructure Connectivity Alliance. Compliance averaged 48%. Compliance with the 2018 commitment to attract private sector investment to bridge the infrastructure financing gap was 83%, and the 2019 commitment to endorse the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment increased to 93%. The three commitments analysed from 2020, endorsed the G20 Riyadh InfraTech Agenda, maximised infrastructure quality and advanced G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment, and averaged 58%. A 2021 commitment to develop the collaboration between public and private investors to mobilise private capital averaged 88%. No infrastructure commitments have been assessed for compliance since. emphasis on impactful private sector integration in their commitments. Commitments referencing private sector involvement averaged 85% compliance, compared to 68% for those that did not. Second, stronger leader-level attention to infrastructure is linked to higher CAUSES G20 leaders should place greater
G20 performance on infrastructure
Closing Africa’s infrastructure gaps will be critical to unlocking investment, accelerating the energy transition and connecting young, growing populations to opportunity
Julia Tops, senior researcher, G20 Research Group
A lthough South Africa has not outlined infrastructure as a priority for its 2025 G20 presidency, it is vital to the theme of ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’. Infrastructure is integral to resilient, inclusive growth. It is included in many agenda priorities, including an equitable energy transition, climate-resilient development, digital public infrastructure, sustainable industrialisation, and inclusive growth through trade, manufacturing and logistics. As the first African country to host the G20 since the summit’s start in 2008, it seeks to make strides towards closing infrastructure gaps in order to unlock economic potential, attract investment through innovative financing models, enable scalable access to public and private services, and ensure that young and expanding populations are connected to opportunities. DELIBERATIONS Infrastructure is a consistent topic at G20 summits, featuring in every declaration since Washington in 2008, which dedicated 1% of its declaration to it. Between 2009 and 2013, infrastructure took 6% of the declarations, until 2014 when it peaked at 25%. Then the portion of words on infrastructure decreased to between 4% and 8% but on average remained higher than before 2014. Recently, infrastructure made up 5% of the 2023 New Delhi declaration and increased to 7% at the Rio de Janeiro Summit in 2024. DECISIONS Since 2008 G20 leaders have made 56 collective, politically binding, future-oriented commitments on infrastructure, placing it 19th among
126 // G20 SOUTH AFRICA: THE JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT 2025
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