Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University. He has written 16 books and over 300 papers. His books include ‘Green Urbanism in Asia’ (2013) and ‘Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence’ which was launched in the White House in 1999. Peter has worked in local, state and national government in Australia, was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia Charlottesville and was on the IPCC for their 5th Assessment Report. In 2014 he was awarded an Order of Australia for his contributions to urban design and sustainable transport.
Peter has worked in local government as an elected councillor, in state government as an advisor to three Premiers and in the Australian Government on the Board of Infrastructure Australia. He was a Visiting Professor at NUS from 2010 to 2012 and is a Member of the Land and Liveability Research Advisory Committee for the Singapore Government.
Presentation title
Smart and Innovative Cities: How can we reduce carbon 80% by 2050?
Abstract
Cities are historically at the heart of innovation. In the 6th wave of innovation the role of cities in creating smart and zero carbon built environments will be crucial to achieving the necessary 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. This future is rapidly unfolding with the combination of radical resource efficiency, renewable energy, battery storage, mass transit and electric vehicles, that can now enable us to imagine its achievement. These technological advances need to include innovations in high density urban design, including biophilic urbanism, and new governance systems that can enable the market to work at precinct scale and metropolitan region scale. Best practice examples will be provided as well as evidence that key indicators now show the necessary trends are well underway.