Page 11 - Policy Economic Report_Jan 25

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

Infrastructure trends
? International project finance, especially critical for infrastructure development, continued the

decline that started in 2023 due to high interest rates. Deals fell by 31 per cent in number and 26
per cent in value.

? International project finance in renewable energy, a major driver of growth in project finance in
recent years, further slowed by 16 per cent in both number and value, following the decline in
2023.

? By region, international project finance in renewable energy generation fell by 22 per cent in
North America, 18 per cent in developing Asia, and 14 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Africa was the only region to see an increase of eight per cent.

SDG-related investments
? The global investment environment remains challenging for sectors critical to achieving the SDGs

in developing countries, which rely especially on international project finance.

? The number of SDG-related investments fell by 11 per cent in 2024.

? While there has been some growth in renewable energy and health and education, three sectors
– infrastructure, agrifood systems, and water and sanitation saw fewer internationally financed
projects in 2024 than in 2015, when the SDGs were adopted.

5. Climate emergency: 2025 declared international year of glaciers- United Nations
? As glaciers disappear at an alarming rate due to climate change, the UN General Assembly has
declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.

? Co-facilitated by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO), this global initiative seeks to unite efforts worldwide to
protect these vital water sources, which provide freshwater to more than 2 billion people.

? Glaciers and ice sheets hold around 70 per cent of the world's freshwater and their rapid loss
presents an urgent environmental and humanitarian crisis.

? In 2023, glaciers experienced their greatest water loss in over 50 years, marking the second
consecutive year in which all glaciated regions worldwide reported ice loss.

? Switzerland, for instance, saw their glaciers lose 10 per cent of their total mass between 2022 and
2023, according to the WMO.

? According to UNESCO, 50 UNESCO heritage sites with glaciers represent almost 10 per cent of
Earth's glacier area. However, a recent study warned that glaciers in one-third of these sites are
projected to disappear by 2050.

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