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Arup supports COP24 meeting in Poland

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Zaida Espana Zaida España Europe Press Office
3 December 2018

Arup is proud to support the UN summit on Climate Change, COP 24, which is taking place in the Polish city of Katowice between December 2 -14 this year.

Hosting more than 30,000 delegates from across the world, the event is one of the key agenda-setting items for environmental policy. The aim of the COP 24 is to agree on a collective implementation plan for the 2015 Paris Agreement – the first global agreement to combat climate change in history.

The 2015 landmark agreement, which was ratified by 184 parties, compels all countries in the world to take action on climate protection. The implementation package will allow for the adoption of the Agreement in practice, setting global climate and energy policy for the coming years. 

Following Arup’s decision in 2017 to embed The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals across our operations, we have made good progress in putting plans in place to align our work even more closely with these goals.

“ Commitment to sustainable development is a long-established part of our culture, stretching back to Ove Arup’s aim for the firm to be ‘socially useful’. Arup continues to develop leadership, capabilities and understanding of sustainable development so that our work across the built environment helps to shape a better world. ” Matthew Skuse Matthew Skuse Principal

Working with various collaborators, Arup will join the conversation contributing to several discussions and events that are taking place. 

On the energy demand side, Arup is working to explore how e-mobility will help shape the smart infrastructure networks of the future, including how cities can prepare for the wider uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Filippo Gaddo, Arup’s head of Energy Economics, will cover how cities and investors could partner to develop new business models to enable improved EV charging deployment. 

Arup Director Mark Neller will discuss the leading work we’re doing with the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to test the possibility of using hydrogen in domestic and commercial buildings in the UK. Hydrogen is rapidly becoming a transitional fuel of choice, not only for UK cities where studies and work is underway, but in Australia and New Zealand. The lower carbon form of energy can use existing infrastructure to provide resilient and secure energy for homes, industries and businesses whilst complimenting other energy sources. The UK is at the forefront of thinking, moving from paper studies into real projects as we develop prototype appliances and potential safety testing. 

From a water perspective, Arup will be showcasing its work in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and The Resilience Shift, helping cities better prepare for and respond to shocks and stresses to their water systems. Martin Shouler, London Water Leader, will be presenting developments to date with the City Water Resilience Framework (CWRF), at the Paris Committee on Capacity Building Hub.

Pasquale Capizzi of the Arup International Development team is also joining a panel debate to discuss water’s essential role in addressing climate change and disaster risk. The panel will be demonstrating how water can serve as a mechanism to build resilience in the face of ever-increasing uncertainties through natural disasters.