Urban centers worldwide face unprecedented growth and mounting climate challenges, advancing energy efficiency, resilience, and sustainability in our buildings and cities has become more crucial than ever. As policymakers, researchers, and practitioners alike recognize, achieving a transformative impact by 2030 requires a holistic approach that integrates energy efficiency with human health and environmental sustainability. To explore innovative solutions and strategies through discussions on cutting-edge design, advanced energy management, data-driven insights, and progressive regulatory frameworks. Together, we aim to shape energy-efficient, climate-resilient, and adaptable urban spaces that meet the complex demands of a changing world. Our shared focus will be on pathways to net-zero energy buildings, green infrastructure, and responsive urban planning, prioritizing quality of life, resource efficiency, and resilience, equipping cities to thrive amid evolving climate impacts.
Modern Building Materials and Construction Techniques
- Low-carbon and sustainable building materials
- Smart materials for responsive building design
- High-performance insulation materials for energy efficiency
- Low carbon construction
- Modular and prefabricated construction techniques
- Hybrid construction methods: combining strength and sustainability
- Circular economy in construction
Climate-Responsive and Resilient Building Design
- Passive and net zero energy building design
- Adaptive building envelopes for dynamic environmental conditions
- Green roofs, urban forests, and cooling techniques for urban heat
- Thermal performance and building envelope optimization
- Embodied carbon and life cycle assessments
Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Human Health and Productivity
- Standards for indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and indoor air quality (IAQ)
- Balancing energy efficiency and IEQ in building design
- Thermal comfort standard vs. energy efficacy goal
- Data-driven design for thermal and visual comfort
- Post-occupancy evaluation and monitoring of IEQ
- Digital IEQ monitoring: using IoT to track and improve indoor quality
Urban Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities
- Climate impact, mitigation, and adaptation in urban planning
- Net zero communities and urban heat island mitigation
- Green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in urban design
- Big data and ai applications for smart city development
- Digital twins, GIS, IoT, and machine learning for urban planning
- Distributed energy resources and intelligent grid infrastructure
Energy-Efficient HVAC and Appliances
- Risk assessment for rising cooling demands
- Smart solutions for extreme weather events
- Innovation and technological advancement in cooling systems
- Design and planning of new equipment, systems
- Affordable cooling access for vulnerable communities
- Policy frameworks for cooling equity and thermal comfort
- Role of not-in-kind cooling technologies
- Smart grid integration and demand response for cooling
- Building management systems (BMS) and smart adaptations
Bishal Thapa
Fred Sherman
Sumedha Malaviya
Satish Kumar
The three main global energy concerns of providing access to modern energy, enhancing the security of the energy supply, and minimising the impact of energy systems on the climate have an impact on both national and international energy governance. To develop solutions that address the many facets of these difficulties, however, a variety of actors and stakeholders must be included due to the complexity of the energy challenges.
Cities are responsible for more than 70% of the world’s energy consumption and 40% to 50% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Managing increasing urbanisation is a challenge, and nations must deal with the effects it will have on the environment in terms of energy and climate.
Our transition to a future with lower carbon emissions depends heavily on buildings. They are our places of residence, rest, and employment; they also account for around one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 40% of the world’s energy usage.