Honored to share the big stage of The Economist alongside people like Michio Kaku, physicist and science writer, and Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia — My learnings:
27.02, Here are 7 insights to remember:
-While representing only 2% of the planet’s surface, cities emit 60% of GHG emissions
-2 billion individuals are projected to inhabit megacities in the developing world by 2100, mainly in Asia and Africa.
-The World Health Organization predicts +8 degrees (up to 50 degrees in some cities) temperatures due to climate change in the top 20 cities. That’s lethal heat without efficient air conditioning systems.
-The total value of global real estate is $21 trillion. It faces big write-downs due to climate risks.
-In Europe, 90% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 are already standing today. To reach a net-zero built environment by 2050, we’ll need to invest $83 trillion to retrofit buildings.
-In 2023, 70% of investments in the built environment went to climate tech. This was a big jump from 20% fifty years ago.
-Michio Kaku believes that AI and quantum computing will soon enable us to reach the Solar Age, an age where humans will be able to harness the power of the sun and stop their city’s dependence on fossil fuels.
If we want to fix our relationship with the planet we need to fix our cities.
How will our cities’ energy, food, and water be produced, consumed, and RECYCLED in 2040?
This is the challenge of our generation: to reinvent our cities to be greener and more resilient to climate-induced extreme weather.
I believe this Solar Age is right around the corner: using climate tech and AI, the future of our cities lies in fostering funding for solutions retrofitting our homes & production cycles.
Today, Atlas Climate Tech Coalition is launching — the Adaptive Cities Innovators Awards, gathering 100 innovators reinventing the future of our climate-resilient cities. Join with the link in the comments.
#AdaptiveCitiesInnovatorsAwards #ClimateAction #SustainableCities #ClimateTech #GreenTechnology#ClimateInnovation#UrbanSustainability #HousingSolutions #ClimateResilience #InnovativeTech