A year of war, floods, political upheavals, and technological advancement is coming to a close. These events have made even more tangible a reality we have long known: that around the world our countries, economies, supply chains, and prosperity are deeply interwoven.
The year has also brought home the interconnected nature of the dual green and technological transitions unfolding unevenly around the world, and the anxieties and opportunities that this twin arrival is creating. Floods in Dubai sparked debate about infrastructure resilience, and the need for advanced early warning systems around them. Data centres are enabling tremendous advances in AI, while also consuming outsized energy. Nordic countries, with cooler temperatures and robust renewable energy supplies, are leading the charge. In Germany, data centres will be obliged to source 100% of their energy from renewable sources by 2027. To talk of one transition without the other is near impossible.
At StateUp, 2024 has been a year of delivering the data, evidence, and ideas that leaders across sectors need to shape and navigate this period of complex transition. In June, we launched a major report with Visa Government Solutions and Resilient Cities Network on urban resilience and digital financial innovation based on original data collected across more than 30 cities globally. Launched at the World Cities Summit, Singapore, the report made the case that cities must engage a robust range of technological and data-based products to strengthen their resilience against economic, climate, and energy disruptions.
Governments and firms have also turned to us to help develop bilateral and minilateral technology trade strategies for sectors of critical importance to national and societal resilience, including renewable energy, new green construction materials, and AI. In a world where international cooperation and its guiding institutions face increasing uncertainty, the pressure to build creative, trustworthy, smaller group relationships is on – and such models can deliver results.
Throughout our work, we have seen leaders across the public and financial sectors grapple with finding the tools to respond to this moment: to assess new risks, anticipate opportunities, and position their organisations to thrive in an age of geopolitical fragmentation, climate change, and technological development.
With this in mind, it is with great pleasure that we end the year with an invitation to join our experts, and your fellow executives for “Powering the Green Future: Strategic investment in emerging technologies”. Our new, University of Cambridge-certified, executive education programme in collaboration with the Møller Institute, Churchill College, Cambridge will run for the first time this spring.
The programme is designed for investors and financial leaders across tech, government, and finance, from banks to insurers and VC. World-class technologists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policy thinkers will explore with participants:
We hope you’ll join us, and benefit from our current early-bird discount. As we look to 2025, we remain committed to equipping decision-makers with the knowledge and products to thrive in a changing world.
Wishing you a restful holiday season and a prosperous year ahead,
Tanya Filer
CEO, StateUp
