G20 performance on infrastructure

Although 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 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.

Causes

G20 leaders should place greater 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 performance. The four highest-complying summits averaged 83% with 3,896 words and 33 commitments on infrastructure. In contrast, the three lowest-performing summits averaged 63%, with just 1,801 words and 12 commitments. The standout was Brisbane 2014, with 98% compliance. It produced a dedicated document – the G20 Note on the Global Infrastructure Initiative and Hub – and established the Global Infrastructure Hub. Finally, the G20 should hold regular infrastructure ministerial meetings to complement the existing working group. Given the inherent cross-cutting nature of infrastructure, an agenda-specific forum can set clear priorities, including investment, financing, climate resilience and more. Evidence from other G20 policy areas indicates that dedicated ministerial meetings are correlated with higher compliance with the leaders’ commitments.

Conclusion

At the 2025 Johannesburg Summit, G20 leaders should make infrastructure a central pillar of their agenda by promoting sustainable, climate-resilient and inclusive systems that support the just energy transition. This requires prioritising low-carbon materials, designing adaptable projects that can withstand climate risks and addressing infrastructure gaps that limit Africa’s ability to leverage its critical mineral reserves for green energy. To mobilise capital, the G20 should encourage blended finance models that mitigate investor risk, while aligning foreign investment with both African priorities and the global sustainability agenda. Finally, by fostering cross-border trade, reducing barriers to finance and ensuring underserved communities gain access to physical and digital infrastructure, the G20 and its South African presidency can show that cooperation drives equitable growth and strengthens global stability.