According to the United Nations, 92% of the Sustainable Development Goals could be achieved through investment in infrastructure alone. But realizing the big promises of infrastructure requires a significant increase from current funding levels. Currently, the financing gap exceeds 6 trillion dollars each year, a sum greater than the total of Germany economic production. To realize the potential of infrastructure, we need nothing less than a Marshall Plan for infrastructure, an interstate highway system for the world, or an industrial revolution for people and the planet.

The obvious solution is to raise more capital. Yet governments face significant obstacles to public spending, especially as budget deficits are increasing and public support for overseas spending fall. Efforts to mobilize private capital have also been underperforming. Despite vast reserves of private capital – and the emphasis on mobilizing the private sector at the G20 – investment in infrastructure has increased. barely grown up over the last decade.

Unfortunately, increased funding is not going to happen any time soon. Instead, we need to make better use of existing capital. By investing smarter in our infrastructure, we can not only better finance ever-increasing infrastructure needs, but we can also use that infrastructure more wisely to achieve our goals.

Here are three things that will help meet infrastructure needs without breaking the bank.

Harmonize standards

Investors are increasingly recognizing the importance of high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards for infrastructure. These standards help guard against reputational risks and deliver more reliable returns on longer periods.

But it is not easy to meet the standards. Although there is broad consensus on the goals of sustainability and inclusiveness, a confusing set of standards has proliferated. These include the Equator Principles, G20 principles for quality infrastructure investment, IFC Performance Standardsand more recent initiatives like FAST Infrastructure and the Blue dot network. This “spaghetti bowl” of standards can confuse investors, divert resources and cause delays in project preparation and financing. Although proponents claim a certain degree of interoperability, the reality is more complicated. We need greater convergence and less divergence in our overall approach to infrastructure standards.

Multilateral development banks (MDBs), the main financiers of infrastructure, can play a leading role in developing common standards. As part of broader reform efforts, MDBs and development finance institutions (DFIs) should accelerate the adoption of a common set of standards and, at a minimum, mutually recognize each other’s frameworks. For example, a unique environmental impact studycertified by an international body, could replace the current system of multiple and often redundant evaluations.

Deeper coordination between lenders

Not all countries have the same comparative advantages in terms of financing development. Some lenders excel in specific sectors because of their expertise and, just as importantly, their national industrial capacity. For example, Japan has a strong track record in high speed train And maritime infrastructurewhile the United States does not have the same national base in these areas.

Countries also differ in their approach to sovereign versus commercial lending. Although global initiatives like Global Infrastructure Investment Partnership (IGP) and the Trilateral Infrastructure Partnership aim to pool investments, they often fail to collaborate in the financing and development of projects based on the strengths of each country.

Better coordination among official development assistance (ODA) lenders could help pool resources and eliminate the need for a single lender to cover all sectors.

Activate private investment

Given the limited amount of ODA available, all possibilities to activate private investment should be explored. In the short term, this could involve focusing on priority sectors like renewable energy, which have seen significant private investment over the past decade, outpacing growth in every other major category.

Although growth in renewable energy financing has been impressive, it is still not enough to meet growing global energy demand. Furthermore, the World Bank estimates that only 40% of public services in EMDEs can cover their operating and debt service costs. The sector is an example of public-private collaboration that has had some success, but it needs deeper and longer-term partnerships to achieve sustainability goals.

Whatever our priorities for the future, we have reached a tipping point where the demand for new infrastructure far exceeds our ability to finance it. The current approach must evolve. By harmonizing standards and improving coordination among ODA partners, we can further expand investments. While these efforts can be tedious, they offer one of the best returns on investment for people and nature until broader economic solutions are found.