Rio +20: Should Jobs, Energy and Cities be placed on top of the agenda?
by Joe Peach
With Rio+20 kicking off next week in Brazil, we decided to host our most recent #citytalk tweetchat on the topic of energy, jobs, and sustainable cities – three subjects noted as priority areas for the debate in Rio. Hundreds of people joined the discussion, including our many special guests from Siemens AG, and our conversation reached over 80,000 twitter users. Here’s some of our favourite tweets:
1. Measuring sustainable cities
Depending on your view, defining sustainability is either a critical component in making cities more sustainable, or a time-consuming distraction from getting actual work done. Here’s Stephan Volmer from Siemens’ thoughts on how we could measure ‘sustainable cities':
A1 – Extensive research available into, e.g.: resource consumption, waste/capita, env. policies, access to education, security,#CityTalk
— The Crystal (@thecrystalorg) June 11, 2012
2. Sustainable energy accessibility 1 in 5 people don’t have access to modern electricity, but energy accounts for 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. So how do make energy accessible and sustainable?
A2) Batteries may be the most boring subject on the planet, but improved battery technology is critical for sustainable energy #citytalk — Joe Peach (@thisbigcity) June 11, 2012
@thisbigcity A2 – how about educating people on self sustaining energy production backed by governmental funding #citytalk — SiemensAfrica (@SiemensAfrica) June 11, 2012
3. Green jobs and economic growth There’s a lot of talk about ‘green jobs’, but what does it mean? And are green jobs really the answer for our current economic struggles?
@thisbigcity A3) A job in which the outputs exceed its physical and environmental inputs. #citytalk #greenjobs — SiemensUSA (@SiemensUSA) June 11, 2012
@thisbigcity definition of #green jobs needs to change – all jobs will adapt to being more green vs new ‘green’ jobs being created #citytalk — Sustainable Cities(@sustaincities) June 11, 2012
#citytalk A4) Global econ. is the worst thing that happened to ‘green.’ With dismal growth, ‘green’ agenda is sidelined, jobs in forefront. — Andres de Wet (@AndresdeWet) June 11, 2012
4. Using technology to make urban services more affordable
As cities in the developing and developed world struggle to balance their books, what role can technology play in making cities more economically efficient?
A5) Crowdfunding has certainly gained its cool-factor thanks to @kickstarter, paving the way for public-project crowdfunding. #citytalk
— Dinika Govender (@DrivingMissD) June 11, 2012
A5 #citytalk. Technology is everything, and nothing. What matters is how we use what we have to improve efficiency and access.
— Rory Williams (@carbonsmart) June 11, 2012
5. Which technologies have made cities more sustainable?
Technology is the critical component in creating a smart city, and a smart city has the potential to be more sustainable. But which technological developments are already making our cities more environmentally friendly?
A6) Congestion and traffic monitoring very NB is reducing cities’ carbon output. #citytalk
— Andres de Wet (@AndresdeWet) June 11, 2012
6. Learning from sustainable countries
@thisbigcity same with solar – intermittency still an issue but germany did just get over 50% of their midday needs from it #citytalk — Sustainable Cities(@sustaincities) June 11, 2012
7. Setting the agenda for Rio+20
With urban issues varying wildly across the globe, what should the focus at Rio+20?
A8: Start at the beginning. Basic services and the progress made, and the exchange of information to improve this issue #CityTalk
— futurecapetown.com (@futurecapetown) June 11, 2012
a8) decentralized infrastructure and 100% waste stream use, closed loop cities will open opportunities we don ‘t know are there #citytalk
— richard palmer (@richpalmeris) June 11, 2012
