This vision brief may be summarized by the following points. First, the crisis of the liberal world order arises from a misalignment of our social, economic and political domains of activity, along with a resulting destabilization of our physical environment. The integration of the global economy has generated problems that extend beyond our current bounds of social and political cooperation. Second, extending our social cooperation – on which basis our political cooperation can be extended as well – requires the creation of the appropriate moral narratives. These narratives must guide business strategies, public policies and civic activities. Third, these narratives must be supplemented by multilevel governance structures that address challenges at the scale – micro, meso and macro – at which these challenges arise. Finally, past human experience in developing moral narratives, supported by multilevel governance structures, suggests guidelines for a future form of multilateralism that enables us to meet this challenge.

We propose that G20 countries build a robust upstream policy and institutional framework for delivering on sustainable infrastructure. Specifically, such a framework should include coherent growth strategies and well-articulated investment plans, comprehensive infrastructure plans, a sound project prioritization framework, and procurement policies that integrate sustainability criteria. Additionally, G20 countries should work with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to build sound platforms to bring together all relevant stakeholders to help attract and evaluate investments in sustainable infrastructure.