Murat Karaege: On Greening Infrastructure to Combat Climate Change

Murat Karaege is Senior Investment Officer and multi-regional Climate Lead for IFC's Infrastructure Department, based in Vienna. Murat’s infrastructure expertise and deep understanding of the climate challenges facing emerging markets serve the department well as he works to expand IFC’s climate portfolio across the regions. Here, he highlights some of the challenges as well as the opportunities to improve the regions’ infrastructure in ways that yield long-term economic, climate, and social benefits.  

Tell us a bit about your story. Where are you from? And when did you first become aware of the challenges and disparities faced by developing countries?

I am from Izmir, Türkiye. My dad is a physician who, at almost 80, is still working, which is amazing and inspiring to me. My mom is a pharmacist, and my sister is an academic. So I was the outlier because I was always interested in finance and economics! When you are raised in a low-income country, as Türkiye was in the 1980s, you see and feel these challenges up close. It’s when you are exposed to other places that you realize the disparities. For me, it was on my first trip abroad, to Italy. I remember being transfixed by the city lights and asking myself: Why is this city so bright and mine so dark? That’s when I first internalized the importance of infrastructure.

And what about climate—how did your awareness get raised?

Izmir is a beautiful city. But it is also vulnerable to severe weather events, like heavy flooding and drought. In college, I became more interested in climate and how a changing climate was affecting weather patterns, in part because of what I was seeing at home.

 So what brought you to IFC?

I joined IFC in 2012, after a career in commercial banking and private equity. What drew me to IFC? It’s a financial institution with a global footprint, convening power, and an important development mission. I saw it as a way to do impactful transactions that make a real difference in the world. From the time I joined, I’ve worked on truly change-making infrastructure projects, all of them with a strong climate focus.

How does IFC embed the climate lens into its infrastructure projects?

Infrastructure deficits add to the complex interplay of climate, economic, and social challenges in emerging markets. We’re seeing this dynamic in the cities of Europe’s developing countries, where populations have swelled in recent years, putting even more pressure on already stressed municipal services. In my home country Türkiye,  for example, IFC is working with cities clients on strategic infrastructure solutions that address this nexus of economic, climate, and social issues. In Izmir, IFC has partnered with the city to mobilize investment for nine related infrastructure projects, all with climate, economic, and social benefits. And in Istanbul, we financed a metro line that connects poor neighborhoods with transit nodes and business hubs, giving people access to jobs, while taking traffic off the roads and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

When we think about climate-smart infrastructure, renewable energy often comes to mind. What other sectors offer opportunities for big climate benefits?

To me, some of the most exciting opportunities are in sectors where the climate benefits can be enormous, but where there is a need to raise the profile of innovative solutions that can optimize these climate benefits, such as our work with green buildings. Waste management is also a great example. In this sector, we focus on helping our clients transform waste into value, which also accelerates methane emissions reduction. One of our projects will enable the closure of Europe’s biggest toxic dump site, outside of Belgrade, Serbia. This site will be rehabilitated as a new sanitary landfill, waste-to-energy plant, and construction waste recycling unit, along with extensive green space. I am extremely proud of this project, which also was the first waste-to-energy public-private partnership deal in emerging markets. It is a huge win on so many levels for the people of Belgrade.

Logistics is another example. We recently suggested the addition of temperature-controlled logistics to an Eastern European trucking company interested in expanding its fleet. With demand growing for temperature-controlled transport to ensure the safe delivery of perishable food and medicines, the company could capitalize on a significant business opportunity in this unmet need. Meanwhile, the technology involved offers a sustainable, low-carbon cooling solution. This was an angle they hadn’t previously considered, but now they are quite interested.

As you travel the region, what are some of the challenges you see?

The Ukraine war has taken a very big toll on the Europe region, especially in Eastern European countries. The influx of refugees has really put a strain on infrastructure. Companies are trying to raise financing for projects, but commercial players are pulling back. It’s clear that IFC is needed more than ever to help unlock capital. On a personal level, as I sit among Ukrainian colleagues in our Vienna office, I get a sense of just how hard and sad it is for them, but I am also inspired by their resilience and focus on rebuilding.

What do you think success will look like for you, as climate lead?

We have ambitious climate targets, so success would be reaching the target and going beyond, bringing in new clients and new innovative projects that tackle daily challenges. The true success for me would be telling my son about all the sustainable infrastructure projects we enabled, from e-mobility to scaling wind…when he is old enough to ask me about what I do for a living.

What do you do to relax?

Our family has regular movie nights that always involve pizza. We love hiking in the woods around Vienna. And I find it very meditative to listen to music on vinyl records. My record collection includes oldies like Elvis and jazz greats like Bennie Goodman and John Coltrane. The infra team in Europe also has a strong bond. One of the great treasures of working at IFC is being friends with my colleagues.