50% of the world’s 7 billion people live in cities, and by 2050, this will rise to 70%. How do we engineer this future? How do we make energy inclusive, reliable, affordable and sustainable?
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of the world’s megacities working to address climate change, reports that 98 percent of urban leaders surveyed, identified extreme weather as a major risk to their city. Their concerns are justified: weather-related losses and damage have risen from an annual average of about $50 billion in the 1980s to close to $200 billion over the last decade.
With extreme weather, resource constraints, and new patterns of global development, sustainable resilient infrastructure (SRI) is an opportunity to rethink the pre-existing built environment and tomorrow’s cities.
During this month-long series brought to you by Devex and Bechtel, we will explore the future of infrastructure and energy security and the implications for global development. Join the conversation using #build100.
Amos Avidan, senior vice president and manager of corporate engineering and technology at Bechtel, speaks to Devex about how smart, data-centric, technology-driven engineering and design can revolutionize how the world advances sustainable development.
There are plenty of opportunities for the global community to build with sustainability and resilience in mind. We can get it right and reap the daily benefits, or we can get it horribly wrong, and spend billions on the next round of relief and recovery. The choice is ours. An exclusive commentary from Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation.
Government and donors need to draw on past lessons and consider more commercial approaches to how development assistance can support infrastructure needs, including ways to engage the private sector. An exclusive op-ed from Jonathan Nash, MCC's managing director for infrastructure, environment and private sector.
The smart application of technology could provide answers to many of the world's challenges, but it is data — when mined well — that could provide the foundation for smarter, more sustainable and resilient societies. An exclusive op-ed from IBM Corp.'s Tim Docking.
South Korea's Gasa Island used to rely on diesel generators for electricity. Now it's host to solar and wind power facilities and serves as a model for small-scale, self-sufficient grids that can be replicated elsewhere, Sungwoo Kim, KPMG Asia-Pacific's climate change and sustainability head, shares in this op-ed.
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Cover photo by: Bechtel