Pivot of Smart Infrastructure Investment: Sustainability and Climate Transition and Sense-Making Roles of Smart Infrastructure Investment at Crisis Transition A. Pivot crisis governance on the leadership highground of sustainability transition: • Leadership of net-zero transition by 2050 as witnessed in Japan’s strategy on the premise of broad-based sustainable governance, addressable across each specific sector from energy and industry to transport and urban, all with implications to integrated market and policy reform in mid- to long-term views (see Japan’s Nationally Determined Contribution as published at UNFCCC); • Decarbonization pathways that make sense of such ambition are however also required to encapsulate structural change dynamics on a sectoral level (bottom-up), that all comes together from the whole-of-economy perspective conducive to governance decision-making complex (top-down) in the same narrative (see scenario analysis of the energy mix towards 2050 in Exhibit); B. Resonate choices of reform strategy with smart investment in global infrastructure: • Smart Infrastructure investment shall therefore make a profound difference remarkably in advancing productive economic activities (absorptive capacity and allocative efficiency) in broader sustainability ambition, addressable to all in decision-making complex at today’s crisis transition (see G-7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment as announced by President Biden); • Resilient equilibrium is also essential in greater contexts of the global crisis transition, notably in long-term transformation of the energy mix, undoubtedly also with laser-sharp focus on improving supply-side elasticity achievable on the highground of smart green transition (see IMF’s analysis at root cause of inflationary price pressure exacerbated by energy import, therefore rationale for investment in sustainable energy supply notably at global climate cause); C. Lead sustainable and resilient recovery with principle-based ecosystem decision: • Sustainability transition is after all indispensable to a meaningful whole-of-society impact, considering pivot of mutually-reinforcing ecosystemic growth with greater and more opportunities that make a compelling sense of broad-based infrastructure investment on the premise of constructive development ambition shared by all in the international community (refer to G-20’s Quality Infrastructure Principles (QII) with unique precedent of Japan’s leadership).

1. Bangkok, Thailand / Page 1 (2) Edition: June 28, 2022
Pivot of Smart Infrastructure Investment
Sustainability and Climate Transition and Sense-Making Roles of
Smart Infrastructure Investment at Crisis Transition
Siripong Treetasanatavorn
Sloan Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Narrative of Crisis-Time Infrastructure Investment:
A. Pivot crisis governance on the leadership highground of sustainability transition:
• Leadership of net-zero transition by 2050 as witnessed in Japan’s strategy
on the premise of broad-based sustainable governance, addressable across
each specific sector from energy and industry to transport and urban, all with
implications to integrated market and policy reform in mid- to long-term views
(see Japan’s Nationally Determined Contribution as published at UNFCCC1
);
• Decarbonization pathways that make sense of such ambition are however
also required to encapsulate structural change dynamics on a sectoral level
(bottom-up), that all comes together from the whole-of-economy perspective
conducive to governance decision-making complex (top-down) in the same
narrative (see scenario analysis of the energy mix towards 2050 in Exhibit²);
Exhibit: Projection of Japan's future energy mix in 2050 with implications of
infrastructure investment, particularly in bridging new innovative sources (left) to
rising demand in each sector (right) (Source: McKinsey & Company²)

2. S. Treetasanatavorn. Pivot of Smart Infrastructure Investment
Edition: June 28, 2022 Bangkok, Thailand / Page 2 (2)
B. Resonate choices of reform strategy with smart investment in global infrastructure:
• Smart Infrastructure investment shall therefore make a profound difference
remarkably in advancing productive economic activities (absorptive capacity
and allocative efficiency) in broader sustainability ambition, addressable to all
in decision-making complex at today’s crisis transition (see G-7’s Partnership
for Global Infrastructure and Investment as announced by President Biden3
);
• Resilient equilibrium is also essential in greater contexts of the global crisis
transition, notably in long-term transformation of the energy mix, undoubtedly
also with laser-sharp focus on improving supply-side elasticity achievable on
the highground of smart green transition (see IMF’s analysis at root cause of
inflationary price pressure exacerbated by energy import, therefore rationale
for investment in sustainable energy supply notably at global climate cause4
);
C. Lead sustainable and resilient recovery with principle-based ecosystem decision:
• Sustainability transition is after all indispensable to a meaningful whole-of-
society impact, considering pivot of mutually-reinforcing ecosystemic growth
with greater and more opportunities that make a compelling sense of broad-
based infrastructure investment on the premise of constructive development
ambition shared by all in the international community (refer to G-20’s Quality
Infrastructure Principles (QII) with unique precedent of Japan’s leadership5
).
References (in appearance order):
1. See Japan's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (Japan's INDC, 2021) to the 2015
Paris Agreement at: https://www.mofa.go.jp/ic/ch/page1we_000104.html
2. See strategy analysis of how Japan could reach carbon neutrality by 2050 at McKinsey &
Company (2021): https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-
insights/how-japan-could-reach-carbon-neutrality-by-2050
3. See remarks by President Biden (2022) at launch of G-7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure
and Investment: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-
remarks/2022/06/26/remarks-by-president-biden-at-launch-of-the-partnership-for-global-
infrastructure-and-investment/
4. See discussion at the IMF (2022) on causal analysis of price inflation particularly on the
premise of energy import: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO
5. See G-20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) at Japan's Minister of Finance
(2019): https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/international_policy/convention/g20/annex6_1.pdf