enditure on wastewater as percentage of GDP 5.A1.1. Water consumption patterns for some European cities - total water supplied per capita INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 - © OECD 2006 ISBN 92-64-02398-4 Infrastructure to 2030 Telecom, Land Transport, Water and Electricity © OECD 2006 Chapter 1 A Cross-sectoral Perspective on the Development of Global Infrastructures to 2030 Barrie Stevens, Pierre-Alain Schieb and Michel Andrieu OECD, Advisory Unit to the Secretary-General. INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 - © OECD 2006 1. A CROSS-SECTORAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURES TO 2030 Infrastructures are at the very heart of economic and social development. They provide the foundations for virtually all modern-day economic activity, constitute a major economic sector in their own right, and contribute importantly to raising living standards and the quality of life. However, infrastructures also have less desirable consequences. To name but a few - more roads may mean more traffic and more noise, power plants may add considerably to greenhouse gas emissions, and dams may entail the destruction of large areas of countryside and the displacement of population. The next decades are likely to see an accentuation of two facets of infrastructures. On the one hand, they will prove a vital tool in resolving some of the major challenges faced by societies - supporting economic growth, meeting basic needs, lifting millions of people out of poverty, facilitating mobility and social interaction. On the other, environmental pressures in the form of changing climatic conditions, congestion and so on are likely to increase, turning the spotlight firmly on the inherent tensions between the imperative for further infrastructure development and the quest for sustainability. This is just one good reason for taking a long-term perspective on infrastructures - there are others. Infrastructures usuall