The ninth objective promotes the resilient and sustainable development of infrastructure, industrialization, and innovation. These sectors are intended to serve as engines for reducing poverty and improving quality of life worldwide, while minimizing environmental impact.
SDG 9 calls for the provision of financial, technological, and technical support to industries, as well as the encouragement of innovation and scientific research. Achieving this objective requires strengthened international cooperation in research and development, alongside the transfer of technology to developing countries.
SDG9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Where does France stand ?
View the latest data on SDG9 indicators
Domestic challenges
The Agenda 2030 envisages an industrial world that respects the environment and makes rational use of natural resources.
Infrastructures such as telecommunication networks, transport systems, water and waste treatment facilities, hospitals and schools are key to meeting this challenge by guaranteeing efficient economic and social development.
France has a particularly dense transport infrastructure network, and the major challenge is to maintain and modernise it (maintenance, regeneration and adaptation) so that it becomes sustainable and resilient.
Today, to ensure sustainable development for France, innovation incorporates Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while addressing the national challenges of employment, energy, climate and health.
For example, France’s digital strategy aims to eliminate the digital divide by ensuring that digital advances are shared by all and that there is complete ’very high speed’ coverage of the country. In 2022, 86% of the population had high-speed broadband connection compared with 64.4% in 2010. Its deployment must also meet the challenges posed by Agenda 2030 in terms of environmental pollution, health protection and lower energy consumption.
The fundamental elements making up the core target of SDG9 must be combined with a number of other SDGs, in particular : sustainable cities, combating poverty, decent work and regional prosperity, sustainable modes of production and consumption and those relating to preservation of the environment (air, water, soil, seas, climate).
To illustrate these interactions, support for the emergence of urban, suburban and rural development hubs requires a strengthening of the services, facilities and green spaces they have to offer. This type of urban development implies limiting the consumption of space and natural resources, reducing the environmental impact of the production of goods and services, and of the construction and operation of buildings ; it aims to ensure that buildings and services are energy-efficient, and to adapt to climate change.
SDG9 also aims to improve access to relatively isolated areas, by supplementing transport services, developing home services and maintaining local services and shops.
Finally, to make the regions resilient and sustainable, we need to ensure that transport contributes to quality of life, adapt transport systems to energy and climate challenges and reduce the impact of transport infrastructure on the environment.
2.27% Investment in research and development in the European Union will correspond to 2.27% of the combined GDP of the Member States in 2021 ; the French rate is similar (Eurostat).
France’s actions
The French Development Agency (AFD) supports a large number of projects in the fields of transport, energy and new technologies to help developing countries implement SDG9. The countries in which AFD Group operates are experiencing strong growth and urbanisation and are demanding more infrastructure and inclusive basic services to structure their economies and help meet the basic needs of their populations. The Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, held in Paris in June 2023, issued 5 recommendations to “increase investment in sustainable infrastructure in emerging and developing countries”.
On the energy front, here are just three examples that France is involved in :
- The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative launched by African heads of state at COP21 to increase the continent’s installed renewable energy capacity by 300 gigawatts by 2030. France contributed to this initiative by increasing its commitment from €2 billion to €3 billion between 2016 and 2020.
- The International Solar Alliance aligns and brings together the demand for financing, technology and innovation from countries with high solar potential, thereby accelerating the deployment of solar energy in countries located between the two tropics. Its goal is to install 1,000 gigawatts of solar energy and invest $1,000 billion in the sector by 2030.
- Mobilise your city is a facility designed to help cities in developing countries equip themselves with public policy tools to develop low-carbon urban planning.
France is also particularly committed to the development of “sustainable” financial instruments. It supports the “SDGs Everyone” initiative, set up by the World Bank in partnership with BNP Paribas, which has raised $163 million via “SDG” bonds. France has become a key player in the green bond and climate bond sector. AFD launched a €1 billion climate bond in 2014. Secondly, in January 2017, France issued a "green bond", which raised €23 billion (making France the first State to carry out a green debt issuance of this scale). Finally, in March 2021 France issued a second green bond for €7 billion.
On the domestic front, France is particularly attentive to the financial tools available to its entrepreneurial fabric. Outstanding loans to SMEs totalled €537.3 billion at the end of December 2021, an increase of 3.5% over one year. Crowdfunding has benefited from a revamped legal framework since 2014 and 2022 was a record year, with a cumulative total of more than €7 billion since 2015. The BpiFrance public investment bank focuses on the most important phases of company growth. Among its range of financial products, the “green loans” of the Future Investment Programme (PIA) aim to improve the environmental performance of businesses and therefore contribute to the achievement of several SDGs.
France’s strategy for supporting innovation and research & development is structured around 3 components :
- research tax credit ;
- research and development through calls for proposals judged by independent experts ;
- the emergence and development of start-ups encouraged by the French Tech initiative launched in 2013 which brings together the initiatives of the most dynamic ecosystems in France.
With this in mind, the National Industry Council’s Strategic Committee for the Eco-Industries Sector brings together the strategic sectors of the green economy, from energy transition to resource management and environmental protection. It proposes the co-construction of innovative projects between the State and industry.
The Green Industry Law of 23 October 2023 supports French industry in its green transition, with the aim of making France a leader in tomorrow’s green industry. The measures are based on four areas : facilitating, financing, promoting and training. In particular, a tax credit for investment in the green industry (C3IV) totalling €3.7 billion will support the creation of new industrial projects in four key sectors of the ecological transition (batteries, heat pumps, wind power, photovoltaics).