New book offers action-oriented roadmap to fight climate change

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

Climate change is an alarming topic, but what is often overlooked is the fact that to attain sustainability, action must begin in our cities. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in overburdened infrastructure and services, and unplanned sprawl. By 2050, cities will host another 2.5 billion urban dwellers, making the world’s population 80% urban.

It is against this urgent background that ‘Net Zero City’, the region’s first book on transition to Net Zero, has signalled the urgent wake-up call for swift corrective action. By providing a detailed, definitive, and action-oriented roadmap to guide any city in the transition to this critical new approach, the book is a unique and important resource in the fight against climate change.

The launch of Net Zero City, authored by Farah Naz, a Climate Strategist and Lead of Specialist Services, Sustainable ESG Solutions for AECOM Middle East, KSA and Africa, and Langdon Morris, a globally renowned author, consultant, and speaker on innovation and sustainability, is happening just as Dubai is hosting the Middle East Climate Week, supported by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), March 28 – 31, 2022.

Lectures, workshops, and conference activities on Net Zero City are being held across Dubai to create awareness, momentum, and to reinforce the urgency of attaining Net Zero. This is the first time that this vital topic has been explored in the region in the form of such a detailed guidebook.

“The book provides an action-oriented framework that explains how purposeful change must be achieved in cities worldwide. The authors address it both from the perspective of social change, and also as a technical matter of urban policy, urban design, urban infrastructure, and infrastructure engineering. It includes 113 specific examples of Net Zero practices already in use in cities worldwide, and offers the most comprehensive framework ever put forth to guide the transformation of our cities,” explained Farah, an award-winning expert in climate strategy and energy engineering.

Langdon, a highly recognised expert in the field of innovation and strategy, added, “Cities Globally require an action plan that can assist city leaders, to keep temperature gain below 1.5 Deg C to meet the 2030 target of the Paris Agreement. Though 113 Global Best practices the authors take readers into a journey of exploration and discovery. This book is about important interventions, integrations, and innovations, about how to conceive, design and implement an action plan to make them net zero cities.”

Farah added, “For city leaders, the book will help bring clarity to their thinking by showing them a very specific roadmap to help their city achieve net zero. For architects, planners, engineers, innovators, and designers, the book introduces a rigorous Urban Framework perspective to help them address the complexities of the city in a systematic manner. Readers in the general public will benefit from the deep clarity, which explains how attaining net zero requires a comprehensive approach. And all readers will discover numerous actions already taking place through 113 specific examples taken from all over the world.”

Naz and Morris propose these detailed action plans and frameworks based on their worldwide experience and renowned thought leadership in architecture, engineering, strategy, and innovation. Their many successful projects have been accomplished across key sectors in the UAE as well as across the entire the Gulf Region, the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

It is important to note that this is the first book co-authored by a woman engineer who is living and working in the UAE region which highlights both regional and global concerns and case studies. Farah is a sustainability strategist who has supported to many landmark projects here, including the Expo 2020 Sustainability Pavilion, the Museum of the Future, Bee’ah Headquarters, and Masdar Housing.

Langdon, innovation consultant, strategist, and futurist, is author or co-author of more than 15 books, and his work is recognised around that world. He created the Innovation Mastery online training course, the world’s most complete online programme in innovation management.

The book is meant for city leaders as well architects, engineers, and urban designers, the general public, youth, and indeed everyone who is interested in or working in the Built Environment.