COP26 has been effective in achieving some sectorial and economy wide pledges, bringing together government, industry and community leaders from close to 200 countries. Following COP26, the focus must now shift to action and delivery, a role for which engineers are key in the deployment of climate smarts across all infrastructure and assets to limit global warming.

The work of this decade is what matters most. If the world is to achieve a 1.5-2 degree pathway, economies and industry must be held accountable for achieving interim targets essential for humanity. The cost of inaction is becoming clearer both in the pathway to net-zero emissions and in the adaptation required to prepare for more frequent and extreme weather events. 

The increasing shift in focus beyond commitments and pledges brings climate smart engineering to the forefront. The engineering profession needs to instil professionals with the right mindset to design for the future and not the past, this has become the need of the hour. An important realisation for engineers is that some of the rules have changed — the ratios and factors that have held true for a long time — now must be put to one side.

To set economies and industries up for success to meet climate challenges, existing proven technologies such as wind, solar, energy storage and electric vehicles, need to deployed at a speed and scale never before seen. This will provide the biggest impact to achieve interim targets. In parallel, new technologies, such as green hydrogen, need to be developed to decarbonise the sectors that can’t be electrified. 

Engineers understand risk and apply solutions to assets and infrastructure every day. Every engineer has a role to play in solving the climate challenge and helping economies achieve progress this decade.   

Aurecon is committed to helping communities and economies transition to a more sustainable future. While the biggest contribution is through the work Aurecon does with clients, the company also wants to inspire all engineers to harness their technical expertise, to help solve the climate change challenge. It’s why Aurecon is very proud to be a major sponsor of the Climate Smart Engineering Conference 2021.

Aurecon is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and is set to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2025, as part of its plan to decarbonise its business and transition its services.