How India can use geospatial intelligence for infrastructure development to fight climate change by Madhusudan Anand is a story that should be also common to those countries of the MENA region because there are certainly more similarities in The race to zero emissions, between the MENA region and India than differences.
Here are a few ways geospatial intelligence can be the catalyst for India’s smart status ambitions.
At the recent COP26 summit in Glasgow, India promised to reach Net Zero by 2070 — essentially balancing the total carbon dioxide emissions with its elimination from the environment — called carbon neutrality.
However, India is the world’s fourth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide after China, the US, and the EU. The latter two have issued a commitment to reach Net Zero by 2050.
Despite the incredible progress made towards sustainability across the country, India seems to be lagging on a global playing field when it comes to mass scale solutions.
Naturally, there’s a lot of expectations and hopes riding on the government’s initiatives, including on the recent PM Gati Shakti Master Plan, which aims to create holistic infrastructure across the country through the incorporation of a centralised geospatial data platform.
The Rs 100 lakh-crore initiative is envisioned to ensure transparency, standardisation, and most importantly, sustainability through efficiency.
The programme will bring together 16 central government agencies, including the Railways, Roads and Highways, Petroleum and Gas, Power, Telecom, Shipping, Aviation, and more.
The overarching idea is that a smart city is sustainable — equipped to mitigate climate change’s effects by harnessing the power of technology.
Geospatial knowledge can provide answers for most everyday problems, especially developing sustainable smart cities. Urban spaces contribute to around 80 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, they are also responsible for 80 percent of a country’s GDP.
With the intersection of artificial intelligence and geospatial data — including census data, satellite imagery, remote sensing, weather data, cell phone data, drawn images, and social media data — urban planning can be highly efficient and contribute to better living conditions both environmentally and financially.
Astoundingly, the market of geospatial analytics is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24 percent between 2020 and 2025.
Here are a few ways geospatial intelligence can be the catalyst for India’s smart status ambitions.
Environmental repair
Consumption of resources, energy, ecosystems, and transport directly impact climate change. Geospatial intelligence can help monitor emission sources through collaborative workflows that harness big data to arrive at efficient solutions.
Detailed maps can help evaluate the productivity of land to arrive at its habitable or agricultural status. GIS also makes it easy for civic authorities to balance nature with humans in urban cities to avoid unnecessary culling of green spaces and wildlife conservation. Moreover, it can monitor and correct pollution and noise levels accordingly.
ZAWYA informs that 42% of UAE CEOs are non-nationals, and 5% are women, compared to global averages of 24% and 6%, therefore CEO appointments in the UAE surpass pre-pandemic highs per a recent report. Would this statement of fact have any meaning other than those consequent to the pandemic?
Businessman wearing a mask in the office for safety during the pandemic. Image used for illustrative purpose. Getty Images
The appointment of new CEOs has surpassed pre-pandemic highs as companies demonstrate confidence about their prospects and their ability to find the right leader, according to a new report.
The Route to the Top 2021 by Heidrick & Struggles showed that the number of CEOs appointed across 14 countries was up 22.6 percent in the first half of 2021 when compared with the first half of 2018, and up 181 percent compared with the second half of 2020.
The report showed that 42 percent of CEOs in the UAE are non-nationals, compared with a global average of 24 percent, and five percent are women, compared with a global average of six percent. Of the 14 countries surveyed, Ireland had the highest proportion of female CEOs at 14 percent, while Hong Kong had the highest proportion of non-national CEOs at 76 percent.
More than a third of UAE CEOs (35 percent) had previous CEO experience in their last two roles.
Globally, newly appointed CEOs are more likely to be women (11 percent) and to be from countries other than where the company is headquartered (30 percent) and to have cross-border experience 46 percent.
In the UAE, 42 percent of new CEOs have advanced degrees, 16 percent have cross-border experience, and 23 percent have less than one year of experience as CEOs.
Other findings are that 42 percent of UAE CEOs were appointed before the age of 45 but the average age is 55, 30 percent were formerly heads of divisions but only two percent had previous COO experience, compared to 14 percent globally.
“Looking ahead, COVID 19 has raised expectations on the role of businesses in addressing concerns such as climate, equality, cybersecurity and other external realities; boards are rethinking the process of the CEO succession to cope with these changes, said Alain Deniau, head of CEO and board of directors practice, Heidrick & Struggles, MENA.
“This means that companies will open up to new perspectives and ideas. In addition, we expect more attention to shift towards leadership skills rather than specific skills.”
(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; Editing by Seban Scaria)
A write up that is concerned not only about the Middle East but the whole of the MENA region was authored by Kelly Boyd Anderson in the Arab News. It is about those Factors that can help the Middle East shape its own future. Are these as realistic as they should be?
Are those Factors that can help the Middle East shape its own future
The Middle East and North Africa region has long thwarted efforts to predict its future. However, while there will always be unpredictable events, identifying the trends and other factors most likely to shape the region’s outlook is a helpful place to start. There are multiple regional analyses and foresight projects from think tanks, educational institutions and other experts, including the EU Institute for Security Studies, the Middle East Scholar Barometer, and the Middle East Institute. Drawing on these and other studies, there are several factors that many experts believe will be key in shaping the MENA region over the next five to 10 years. Global factors will affect the region; in turn, MENA will have an impact on the world. One major shift with global consequences is the rise of regional powers with the resources to pursue their own interests and exert influence abroad. Regional powers will increasingly shape the region’s future and how it interacts with global actors. The regional countries will have to manage changes in America’s role, along with China’s growing power. Climate change is another trend with global and regional effects. MENA will experience some of the most severe consequences of climate change. The region’s resilience will depend on how successfully its governments improve infrastructure, pursue sustainable development and implement adaptation strategies over the next decade. At the same time, as a major source of hydrocarbons, the region contributes to climate change and must be part of global efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. There is significant potential for the region to become a leader in renewable energy and in technologies to limit emissions, but governments need to increase investments in these areas. The pandemic will have long-term impacts on global business, economics and health, and these will affect MENA. The pandemic accelerated or shifted global developments in business, economics and technology that will have consequences in the region, including advances and changes in artificial intelligence, supply chains, travel and more. These global shifts will create opportunities and risks for governments and businesses. In particular, developing high-quality, accessible digital infrastructure is key to ensuring the region can compete globally. Other factors that will shape the future are specific to the region. Demographic change will continue to play a major role in MENA’s economic and social context. The region’s population growth has started to slow, but its famous “youth bulge” will remain important over the next decade. The region still has an opportunity to benefit from a “demographic dividend,” but this will require urgent job creation, including educational reforms to better prepare young people for the workforce. Migration within and out of MENA will be another key demographic factor, with impacts beyond the region. Unfortunately, war and its aftermath will also play a crucial role. The conflict in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands, caused widespread displacement inside the country and historic refugee flows to other countries and left 90 percent of the population living in poverty. Libya, too, has experienced civil war. Ending and recovering from these conflicts will require enormous resources over the coming years, with long-lasting social, economic and political consequences. There is also a risk that areas of instability could descend into war. Iraq and Lebanon are experiencing violence and widespread dysfunction, with the potential to again become conflict hotspots. Many countries across the region face governance crises, being unable or unwilling to respond to the public’s needs and concerns. While the initial political changes that stemmed from the 2011 Arab Spring protests have been rolled back, the uprisings demonstrated that popular movements are important players in the region. Many countries have continued to experience significant protests. In a Middle East Scholar Barometer survey earlier this year, 30 percent of experts said that the “uprisings are likely to return within the next 10 years,” while 46 percent said that the “uprisings never stopped and are still ongoing in different forms.” Global and regional economic factors will also drive change. Youth unemployment is one of the region’s greatest challenges, making job creation and educational reform essential. Aging infrastructure, uneven access to the internet, food insecurity, and large fiscal deficits are other key issues.
One major shift with global consequences is the rise of regional powers with the resources to pursue their own interests and exert influence abroad.
Kerry Boyd Anderson
However, the region has significant economic opportunities, including a young population that is interested in entrepreneurship and is familiar with digital tools, the potential to expand women’s participation in the workforce, and significant space to expand the private sector. The extent to which governments and businesses implement policies to utilize these opportunities and manage the challenges will determine much of the future. There are many other relevant factors, including the closing window on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the role of violent extremist groups such as Daesh, the challenges and opportunities of increasing urbanization, and the uneven distribution of assets and risks around the region. The future is impossible to predict. However, by identifying the trends and factors that are likely to shape the coming years, leaders can prepare to mitigate risks and build on opportunities. People can have conversations about what type of future they prefer and work toward it, rather than being carried along by the tides of history.
Kerry Boyd Anderson is a writer and political risk consultant with more than 18 years of experience as a professional analyst of international security issues and Middle East political and business risk. Her previous positions include deputy director for advisory with Oxford Analytica. Twitter: @KBAresearch
The World Bank at a time when according to the IMF, the MENA region is on track for a recovery, despite some rising social unrest threatening the ‘fragile’ progress of low-income economies, produced the following enthusiastic remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass address to the Arab Governors of the World Bank Group.
Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass to the Arab Governors of the World Bank Group
Let me begin by congratulating Minister Khalil. Your appointment as Minister of Finance comes at a crucial moment in Lebanon’s history. The World Bank Group will work with you to support the critical reforms needed to address Lebanon’s challenges. Thank you for mentioning Hela in your opening. She’s the new IFC Vice President for the region, and I want you all to know the high priority we place on private sector advancement in the region. All parts of the World Bank Group are making that a high priority.
Dear Governors and distinguished guests, it is a pleasure to be with you again to discuss the challenges and opportunities in your region. Thank you for your recent annual letter outlining the key and urgent development challenges of the region. Let me also thank our Dean Dr Merza Hassan for helping to convene this meeting and for his unwavering support to the MENA region.
We meet today against a backdrop of uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to reversals in development gains in many regions, threatening jobs, social stability – and lives.
MENA was hit particularly hard by Covid 19. Even before the pandemic, growth had stalled, poverty was on the rise, and the social contract between citizens and the state was strained. Climate change adds a further burden to the development challenge.
During my recent visits to the region, to Sudan, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, I saw firsthand the impact of this multi-pronged crisis. I was concerned by low investment levels, high unemployment rates, and low female labor participation rates.
I also saw potential via regional integration, pro-growth investment, and improvements in the enabling environment for business. The recovery in global growth provides opportunities to make positive changes, and I was encouraged by my discussions with officials and businesses.
As you know, MENA is the least economically integrated region in the world. We have expressed our support for any initiative aimed at developing economic ties between countries in the region, and we are thus looking at ways to support the gas and electricity potential connection between Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
While we are not in a position to engage in Syria, we nevertheless are concerned about the Syrian people’s economic woes due to the degradation of the situation in the country. Our position has always been to look after the people, and we are doing so for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.
In the year leading up to the next annual meetings in Marrakesh, my message will remain focused on the importance of improving access to vaccines; recovering from Covid; overcoming conflict; mitigating and adapting to climate change; containing debt; and creating strong sustainable jobs for the youth of this region.
Morocco has made progress on all of these, and I want to thank you for graciously hosting us in 2022.
As a region, MENA will need to generate 300 million new jobs by 2050. These will be created largely by the private – not public – sector. Reaching this critical goal of sustainable job creation needs governance and transparency, rule of law, and an attractive business environment.
IBRD, IFC and MIGA are fully engaged. I’m interested in hearing from you where the World Bank Group can position itself better.
As we move toward Marrakesh in 2022 and Cop27 in Egypt, how can the Bank Group assist in making these events a launching pad for more sustained and comprehensive development in MENA?
Thank you again for inviting me and let’s now open our discussion.
With, the omnipresent COVID-19 – The financial crisis of 2008 was a piece of cake as proposed by ELECTRIFYING on 9 April 2020 we are given a comparative view of the different crises that currently shake not only the world of finance but the world at large.
The world has seen difficult financial times before, like the ‘Black Tuesday’ in 1929, which we all know as the ‘Great Crash of Wall Street’. Only 13 years ago, we were able to observe another crash originating in the USA but spreading all over the world to end in a global financial crisis. Yet we see ourselves heading towards the next crisis at a frightening pace, but surely, we should be prepared and have learned our lesson from mastered crisis’.
Unfortunately, the unpleasant truth is that the world has not seen this kind of crisis before, as it is constituted genuinely different from the ones we already went through. This time the financial insecurity hasn’t been caused by banks or real estate market; it has been triggered by a global virus which led to the shutdown of economies backbone – SME businesses. The mentioned shutdown has resulted in a short-term demand and supply shock of real-economy to first affect the stock exchange due to its pro-active market responsiveness.
Further effects are the inflation of bonds and company shares as it takes some time for rating agencies screening forecasts and month-end reports until updating the credit rating of companies and governmental entities. The United Kingdom, Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, Iran, Irak and many others have already been cut.
The world has seen difficult financial times before, like the ‘Black Tuesday’ in 1929, which we all know as the ‘Great Crash of Wall Street’. Only 13 years ago, we were able to observe another crash originating in the USA but spreading all over the world to end in a global financial crisis. Yet we see ourselves heading towards the next crisis at a frightening pace, but surely, we should be prepared and have learned our lesson from mastered crisis’.
Unfortunately, the unpleasant truth is that the world has not seen this kind of crisis before, as it is constituted genuinely different from the ones we already went through. This time the financial insecurity hasn’t been caused by banks or real estate market; it has been triggered by a global virus which led to the shutdown of economies backbone – SME businesses. The mentioned shutdown has resulted in a short-term demand and supply shock of real-economy to first affect the stock exchange due to its pro-active market responsiveness.
Further effects are the inflation of bonds and company shares as it takes some time for rating agencies screening forecasts and month-end reports until updating the credit rating of companies and governmental entities. The United Kingdom, Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, Iran, Irak and many others have already been cut.
Eventually, the real estate market will as well see a correction of the booming prices due to a rising supply but limited buyers in the market, partially as an effect of travel boundaries and decreasing cash pools of investors and individuals. If there are only ten local prospective buyers compared to hundreds of international interested parties, the current peek prices will no longer be achieved.
As an upside, we don’t expect hyperinflation to kick-in caused by billions of Pounds, Dollars and Euros simultaneously flooding the markets for the sake of securing liquidity. Indeed, central banks had no other choice but to keep the printer on full throttle to steer against the sharp drop in the stock market. In contrast to an earlier crisis, globalisation and digitalisation have driven the supply of equivalent products to a majority of goods and services, e.g. Cinema vs Netflix, Restaurants vs Delivery Services, Physical Meetings vs Video Conferences. Besides, shelves in most supermarkets around the world are still filled with necessities despite numerous media promotions regarding panic buying.
As it happens, the real threat this time is the shutdown of SMEs, the resulting mass unemployment and the dropping purchasing power. Millions of people all around the world are losing their jobs, struggling to pay their rent and mortgages while facing severe existential issues. In the aftermath, tax deficiency, reduced economic growth, and ongoing down grades of institutions and countries as a whole will also impact the stock market in the long run. Hence, we expect further global economic struggles to highly depend on the realisation of global decision makers’ strategies
A lesson taught from past experience illustrates that a financial crisis always shows unexpected long-term collateral. The Imperial College of London has released a study in 2016, stating an additional 260,000 deaths linked to the financial crisis of 2007/08. This frightening result has been assigned solely to unaffordable or late cancer diagnosis/therapies of countries without universal healthcare in the OECD like the US or UK.
Within the energy sector, business is still running as usual with some effects of dropping prices due to the reduced demand. On the other hand, postponement of new installations is inevitable. Power utilities and O&M companies are classified as being essential infrastructure, which enables their staff to hit the road and keep the energy flowing. Although the restrictions and enhanced H&S measures (PPE, scheduling of lone working, unavailability and avoidance of hotels, increases of travel time, etc.) also bear additional costs to the energy sector, it has been vastly unaffected so far.
Ending this blog post with some good news, Forbes has published an astonishing figure of 72% of all energy project in 2019 were renewable, which would be an eager target for the FY2020 as well.
What direction do you see our economy heading towards?
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