Discover 8 opportunities in climate change

As we collectively learn the lessons from our handling of a global pandemic, there is an increasing awareness of the need to be prepared for the big issues our planet faces through the 2020s. In particular, what can engineers do to combat some of the known challenges that we will face? Here we look at 3 global and interconnected societal challenges and ask what engineers can do to help solve them. 

Air pollution is increasing at a rapid rate across the world, wreaking havoc with the environment and the health of humans. In fact, every year an estimated 4.2 million people die globally every year as a result of exposure to outdoor air pollution, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The rapid increase in pollution can, in part, be attributed to the swift economic development enjoyed in many areas across the globe.

A climate crisis looms over our heads. The struggle to save our planet – that is, to save ourselves – has never been more pressing. The realities of the coming catastrophe are becoming more obvious, projected daily on our television screens.

The protection of the environment should always be a priority, no matter the rate of innovation. Environmental engineers need to be up to date with the latest environmental issues, technologies, techniques, and government regulations. Attending environmental engineering conferences ensures that all projects an engineer oversees are consistently compliant with environmental regulations.

The definition of sustainability is the ability to sustain change in a balanced way. It’s most commonly applied to keeping a harmony between the earth’s resources and our material needs. It’s a way of ensuring that the human race doesn’t exploit the environment and ecology of our planet into a state of irreversible decline. It also covers economic and social issues, and the development of systems and processes that enable future generations to continue meeting their material needs, without destroying the ecosystem. This is also sometimes referred to as sustainable development.