Sustainable development in Brazil
From June 20 to June 22 the Rio+20 conference took place in Rio de Janeiro. During the conference the participants confirmed their commitment for sustainable development in Brazil, as well as their devotedness for a green economy. Important points in sustainable development are the fight against hunger, climate change, environmental pollution and its consequences. More than 14,000 people from all over the world visited the exhibitions at the Pavilion of the United Nations Environment Programme and also Siemens was setting up and was involved in side events and thought leadership conferences. "Siemens is making an impressive and valuable contribution to Rio+20. The motto of Siemens at Rio+20 is ‘We can act now.' UNEP fully supports this call for action", said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Currently approximately 80 per cent of Brazil's inhabitants, i.e. 196 million people, live in cities. The most densely populated metropolitan areas are São Paulo with a population of 20.3 million and Rio de Janeiro with approximately 11.4 million. These numbers force megacities in Brazil to sustainable development in urban areas. This includes measures to make the infrastructure more efficient and eco-friendly. Urban mobility solutions control the flow of the city's traffic and allow the reduction of fuel consumption and hence a decrease in emissions and noise pollution. The flow of inner-city traffic can only be reached by a high-performance transportation system, the optimization of public transport and the smooth interaction of all carriers. The solution is the so called integrated mobility which adjusts dynamically to changing traffic requirements and enhances the quality of the city and the quality of life.
Energy generation and energy management are also important factors in the development of sustainable cities, since cities are major consumers of electrical power. It is crucial to determine how much of the required energy of a city is generated by renewable sources. In comparison to other cities in the world, the amount of renewable energy in Brazilian cities is already high, hence Brazil always had a strong focus on water power. By 2015, while the relative participation of hydropower in the Brazilian energy matrix is set to decrease slightly from 79.3 percent to 71 percent, wind energy is expected to grow to 3.8 percent. However there is still potential for improvement in other areas of renewable sources including wind power and biomass. However the power grid is already overloaded due to the strong economic growth, therefore a smart grid, an efficient power grid which a low-loss transmission of energy is necessary.
Currently approximately 80 per cent of Brazil's inhabitants, i.e. 196 million people, live in cities. The most densely populated metropolitan areas are São Paulo with a population of 20.3 million and Rio de Janeiro with approximately 11.4 million. These numbers force megacities in Brazil to sustainable development in urban areas. This includes measures to make the infrastructure more efficient and eco-friendly. Urban mobility solutions control the flow of the city's traffic and allow the reduction of fuel consumption and hence a decrease in emissions and noise pollution. The flow of inner-city traffic can only be reached by a high-performance transportation system, the optimization of public transport and the smooth interaction of all carriers. The solution is the so called integrated mobility which adjusts dynamically to changing traffic requirements and enhances the quality of the city and the quality of life.
Energy generation and energy management are also important factors in the development of sustainable cities, since cities are major consumers of electrical power. It is crucial to determine how much of the required energy of a city is generated by renewable sources. In comparison to other cities in the world, the amount of renewable energy in Brazilian cities is already high, hence Brazil always had a strong focus on water power. By 2015, while the relative participation of hydropower in the Brazilian energy matrix is set to decrease slightly from 79.3 percent to 71 percent, wind energy is expected to grow to 3.8 percent. However there is still potential for improvement in other areas of renewable sources including wind power and biomass. However the power grid is already overloaded due to the strong economic growth, therefore a smart grid, an efficient power grid which a low-loss transmission of energy is necessary.
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