ISW 2026: How to build, power green cities beyond certification, clean energy

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 10): From shaping sustainable urban futures to discussions on how to power green cities at scale, the opening day of the sixth International Green Build Conference (IGBC) today covered a wide range of issues centred on sustainability, climate resilience and the transition towards a greener built environment.

Expo City Dubai executive director Nadia Verjee, who delivered a talk titled “Shaping Sustainable Urban Futures: Strategic Partnerships for Global Impact”, said green-building certification should be treated as evidence of progress rather than the end goal for sustainable development.

“Sustainability should not be seen as a constraint on economic growth. Instead of only asking how to use less energy, water, carbon and materials, cities should ask what they can create more of — resilience, biodiversity, productive economies, human connection and value,” she said.

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She called this “place power” — the ability of places to compound different forms of value through a single urban intervention, including economic, social, environmental and cultural value, as well as human connection.

“The future user has to be present at the defined decision before that user has even arrived. And to me, that is stewardship. But adaptive reuse only takes us so far,” she said.

Drawing on Dubai’s experience, she said about 80% of the built infrastructure from Expo 2020, which was hosted in Dubai from October 2021 to March 2022, has been retained and repurposed.

“Five years ago, 192 countries came together in Dubai for a world expo. We knew precisely how long the event would last — six months. But the more interesting question was what would happen in month seven.

“Cities are full of structures designed brilliantly for one moment, and less well for everything that follows.

“So from very early in our planning, we made a different choice. We would judge the success of Expo 2020 not by what happened while the world was there, but by what remained useful when the world went home.”

“The legacy was always the design,” Verjee said, adding that more than one million tonnes of excavation material had been reused.

She said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not see sustainability as an argument against growth, but instead asks how growth itself can become more sustainable.

“How can growth itself become more sustainable? And Expo City sits deliberately at the heart of Dubai's growth corridor. We support the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33. And we're one of the urban centres identified within the 2040 Urban Master Plan,” she said.

In the final session of the day, energy experts convened to discuss “Decarbonising at Scale: Energy, Infrastructure and the Digital Backbone of Sustainability”.

Malaysian Nuclear Agency Technical Support Division director Dr Julia Abdul Karim said discussions surrounding clean energy should not be framed as a choice between nuclear and renewable energy.

“We are not talking about decarbonisation anymore. But at the same time, we have to address energy security, affordability, and increasing electricity demand, industrial competitiveness, and the growth of the digital economy.

“Including what we are more into today, AI, artificial intelligence, which has become such a big part of daily life.

“From the technical perspective, there is unlikely to be a single technology that can address all of these requirements. Of course, renewable energy will play a very important role for this.

“We need to look into another alternative potential energy source, which is nuclear and it should be complemented or integrated with renewable energy.

“The useful question is, what combination of technology gives Malaysia the most secure, affordable, resilient, and low-carbon energy system over the next 20 to 30 years?”

The panel was moderated by Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) College of Graduate Studies dean Professor Dr Tiong Sieh Kiong, who was also named Top Research Scientist Malaysia in 2025 by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

Advisory Council for Atomic Energy chairman Datuk Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan and Tenaga Nasional Bhd head of sustainability management Dr Noor Miza Razali were also on the panel.

Raja Abdul Aziz said that when embarking on new industries with high energy requirements, it was important to consider not only power but also water.

“You have to take into account that we have a growing population.

“Meaning to say in 2050, we will have a population of about 50 million. We are about to phase out coal. Therefore, you need to replace about 7 gigawatts of electricity to do that.

“We have invested heavily in renewables. But you and I know the problems facing renewables. It is intermittent at best.

“Therefore, we will have to be supported by the best battery energy storage systems. So those are the things that we will have to be looking at.”

He added that the artificial intelligence (AI) industry also requires low-carbon power.

“This is where nuclear comes in. Nuclear as being complementary and to make sure that renewable energy works.”

The conference will continue tomorrow for its second day, shifting its focus to the theme “Path to Sustainable Cities for All: The Urban Transition Towards Net Zero”.

The IGBC is part of the International Sustainability Week (ISW) 2026, which comprises two components: IGBC 2026 and GreenScape 2026, the exhibition component showcasing green innovations, technologies, services, solutions and financing models that support sustainable project delivery.

GreenScape runs concurrently with the two-day conference.

This will be a session by ASEAN Governors & Mayors Forum strategic adviser Lee Yoong Yoong, titled “From ASEAN Vision to Local Action: Building Sustainable, Smart and Liveable Cities”.

Three more sessions will follow before the conference draws to a close.

For more information on the IGBC and ISW 2026, visit https://www.isw.com.my/index.html

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