“As the world’s population grows and cities expand, buildings and infrastructure become even more important for providing healthy, livable spaces without damaging our planet,” said Mr. Sanjay Mathur, UNOPS Regional Director for Asia, during a panel discussion.

“Essentially, it’s about having the right information and skills to make smart decisions about what we build, where we build it, and how we design, build and manage it,” he added.

As part of Asia-Pacific Climate Week, UNOPS co-organized three sessions: A panel discussion that highlighted challenges and opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region for buildings and cities to contribute to low-carbon pathways; a session that explored climate change adaptation measures and disaster risk reduction; and a panel discussion on transformative mobility solutions. 

In addition, UNOPS experts also took part in several roundtable discussions during which they voiced support for resilient infrastructure, local action informing policymaking, gender mainstreaming and gender-sensitive infrastructure.

Asia-Pacific Climate Week aims to advance regional action on climate change and is considered a stepping stone to the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, which will be held in New York during the UN General Assembly later this month.

The summit will bring together governments, the private sector, civil society, local authorities and other international organizations to develop solutions in climate-related areas, including renewable energy, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, resilience and adaptation.