The Rising Cost of Climate and Ageing Infrastructure

31 July 2026

The Rising Cost of Climate and Ageing Infrastructure
Why resilience should become Europe's next investment priority

Europe is facing one of the most challenging summers in recent memory. Wildfires are destroying communities across Southern Europe, prolonged heatwaves are reducing agricultural production, rivers are reaching critically low water levels, and transport corridors are coming under increasing pressure. Together, these developments illustrate that Europe's transport and logistics system is increasingly exposed to disruptions with continent-wide economic consequences.

The economic consequences are becoming increasingly visible and measurable. What may appear to be a local disruption can quickly become a European economic problem. Germany's ageing bridge network, prolonged periods of low water on the Rhine and the closure of critical infrastructure in the Netherlands illustrate how both ageing infrastructure and climate-related disruptions are placing Europe's transport system under growing pressure, with direct consequences for supply chains, trade and competitiveness.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions continue to expose the fragility of global supply chains. The recent threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab-el-Mandeb, and the Suez Canal illustrate how disruption at a single maritime chokepoint can rapidly affect freight flows, transport costs, and supply chain reliability far beyond the region itself.

For freight forwarders and logistics providers, these disruptions have become an operational reality. Managing the flow of goods across international supply chains, they are often the first to respond when transport corridors are disrupted - rerouting cargo, identifying alternative transport options, and helping customers maintain continuity.

The private and public sectors are increasingly converging on the same conclusion: resilience can no longer be approached through isolated risks. The Allianz Risk Barometer 2026 identifies the growing interconnection between extreme weather, business interruption, and supply chain disruption, while the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2026 similarly highlights the increasingly interconnected nature of global risks.

The same integrated thinking should guide Europe's investment decisions. Europe will need to invest significantly more in its transport infrastructure over the coming decades. The question is not whether to invest, but how to ensure those investments deliver the greatest strategic value. The negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034) provide an opportunity to move beyond fragmented approaches. The greatest return on Europe's infrastructure investment will come from projects that strengthen several strategic objectives at the same time.

Investing in Europe's Critical Transport Links

The renewed focus on military mobility reinforces this case. The transport infrastructure needed to move military equipment efficiently across Europe is, in most cases, the same infrastructure on which businesses rely every day. Investments in rail corridors, bridges, inland waterways, ports, and border crossings are therefore inherently dual-use, strengthening both Europe's economic resilience and its security.

This is where the Life-Links framework developed under the leadership of Sophie Punte offers a practical way forward. It starts from the critical transport links that keep supply chains moving and brings together the public and private actors that depend on them to identify vulnerabilities, prioritise investments, and co-develop solutions that strengthen resilience. By aligning the interests of infrastructure managers, governments, logistics operators, shippers, and investors, it helps translate shared risks into shared action and shared resilience.

Transport and logistics only attract attention when they stop working. Yet every disruption reveals how dependent Europe has become on the networks that move critical goods and energy supplies. The challenge is no longer to recognise the need for investment, but to have the vision to prioritise it. Can Europe afford not to?