PANEL DISCUSSION - Structuring and Financing Climate Resilient Infrastructure: the global perspective

06 Jul 2022

15:50 - 17:20

Banquet Hall

PANEL DISCUSSION – Structuring and Financing Climate Resilient Infrastructure: the global perspective

Panelists

Athanasios Babanikas, Managing Director, Unicredit, Germany

Atanu Das, Head Project Finance, Acwa Power, UAE

Bill M. Halkias, 2^nd VP, International Bridge Tunnel & Turnpike Association (IBTTA), USA / Immediate Past President, International Road Federation, (IRF), Switzerland

Stefanos Lialios, CEO, Cero Generation (a Macquarie subsidiary), Greece

Philippe Neves, Senior Infrastructure Specialist, World Bank, USA

Panagiotis Papanikolas, Chairman & CEO, Olympia Odos / Country Manager, Vinci Concessions, Greece 

Gisele Saralegui, Global Climate Head, International Finance Corporation, USA

François-Guilhem Vaissier, Partner, White & Case, UK 

Moderator: Konstantinos Kotoulas, Cranmore Partners, UK 

Session Chair: Rallis Kourkoulis, Grid Engineers / ICONHIC, Greece

Session Description

For an infrastructure project, resilience and adaptation means protection against disruptions caused by changing climate conditions and extreme climate events/ hazards. Disruptions can be due to operational issues (lack of traffic for a road, or snow/ frost on solar panels, or flooding of an IPP/ desalination plant), or due to damage of capital works (wild fires, flooding, earthquakes).

It is evident that the intensity and frequency of climate associated events are increasing globally. And this has been creating more and more problems in both existing projects concessions but also in the procurement of new projects with several implications both for Governments and project Sponsors.

As climate resilience and adaptation become ever more important and Governments are dedicating funds and policies to adapt existing infrastructure and make new infrastructure resilient, the question arises how one procures and finance projects within the realm of climate change. What does it really mean, what extra costs have to be funded, how risks are allocated, and which parties are impacted and how.

ICONHIC2022 main panel attempts to shed light to the above concerns by bringing together an impressive lineup of panelists representing various stakeholders involved in the design, structuring, financing and operation of infrastructure projects. The ultimate aim of the panel is to provide the audience with a broad view of the current status and emerging needs in the quest for infrastructure resilience as perceived through the eyes of different stakeholders with potentially different viewpoints.