This week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined business and civil society representatives for a discussion on the Blue Dot Network–a State Department-sponsored joint initiative of the governments of the U.S., Australia and Japan to promote transparent and accountable standards in global infrastructure investment–and Blue Dot’s expanded partnership with the OECD.
In prepared remarks alongside OECD Secretary-General Mattias Corman, and panelists Yves Perrier, Chair of French asset manager Amundi, Brendan Bechtel, CEO of Bechtel Group, and Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of quality infrastructure investment that respects human rights and good labor practices, protects the environment, aligns investment with climate goals, embeds openness and transparency to counter corruption, and encourages a level commercial playing field. The U.S. State Department regards these issues as critical to addressing many of the core challenges faced by global economies seeking “build back better” from the covid-19 pandemic.
“Infrastructure is a major focus of governments, private sectors, civil societies all around the world and for very good reason—it’s critical for economic growth.” Blinken said.
“Ports, airports, roads, trains, power grids, access to the internet: each is a building block for global trade, commerce, connectivity, opportunity. It’s directly connected to the climate crisis: infrastructure that’s designed and built sustainably can reduce global carbon emissions significantly. Infrastructure designed to be resilient can better endure the flooding, fires, record-breaking temperatures and larger and more frequent storms caused by the climate crisis that virtually everyone of us in our countries have experienced of late. And finally…infrastructure is critical for people’s well-being. Hundreds of millions of people across dozens of countries don’t have access to roads or to services that should be available to everyone: reliable power, clean water. These are problems that the right infrastructure investments can help to solve,” he added.
Corruption is a problem
While figures from the Global Infrastructure Hub estimate the size of the global infrastructure financing gap at $15 trillion by 2040, these projects are often beset by issues of shoddy governance and accountability. The 2014 OECD Foreign Bribery Report found that over 60 percent of foreign bribery cases occur in infrastructure-related sectors, and according to the organization, early evidence indicates that risks may have increased since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic.
The Blue Dot Network, announced jointly by the United States, Japan, and Australia in 2019, has been designed as a mechanism to certify quality projects that meet robust international standards. Blue Dot Network certification would serve as a globally recognized symbol of open and inclusive, transparent, Paris Agreement-aligned, and financially, socially, and environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects. By utilizing a common standard and assurance of project excellence, the Blue Dot Network would help attract private capital to infrastructure projects in developing and emerging economies.
“The Biden Administration believes deeply in the notion that the world’s major democracies have an opportunity to show real global leadership on this issue,” Blinken said at this week’s event.
To that end, Secretary Blinken announced a new initiative in partnership with the OECD. Known as Connecting the Dots: Building Trusted Systems to Address Corruption in Infrastructure, the program aims to tackle corruption in infrastructure projects, complementing the Blue Dot Network’s goal of greater openness and transparency. The anti-corruption program, supported by the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the OECD’s Trust in Business initiative, will build the capacity of stakeholders in infrastructure projects to implement effective anti-corruption systems in line with leading anti-corruption standards and global programs for infrastructure, including the Blue Dot Network.
With U.S. State Department financial assistance, the OECD Trust in Business initiative is already providing technical support to design and implement the Blue Dot Network. The OECD has analyzed the leading infrastructure standards widely used in the world today and mapped them against the Blue Dot Network’s core elements for quality infrastructure. The OECD is providing options and recommendations to the Blue Dot Network Steering Committee on operationalizing a global certification process and review framework.
The OECD has also organized the Blue Dot Network Executive Consultation Group, a group of over 160 representatives of civil society, academia, and business, including infrastructure developers and financiers to provide strategic input on the implementation of the Blue Dot Network. The Executive Consultation Group includes asset managers who together manage over $12 trillion in assets worldwide. The group meets on an ongoing basis to review efforts and advise on how to ensure the certification process is efficient, legitimate, and serves the need of all stakeholders.
According to the State Department, The Blue Dot Network could also serve as the platform for common standards in the new Build Back Better World (B3W) partnership of the G7. At the G7 Summit in June 2021, President Biden announced the B3W initiative, a values-driven, high standard, and transparent infrastructure partnership aimed to help address the massive infrastructure demand in the developing world in four focus areas – climate, health and health security, digital connectivity, and gender equity and equality. B3W’s efforts will be guided by high standards and principles, such as those promoted by the Blue Dot Network, relating to the environment and climate, labor and social safeguards, transparency, financing, construction, anti-corruption, and other areas.
