LocationsOpening Remarks by Mr James George at the Launch of UNDP-Tongji SDG Innovation Lab on Climate and Disaster Resilience (RISE lab)
June 23, 2025
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, James George, delivered opening remarks at the UNDP-Tongji SDG Innovation Lab on Climate and Disaster Resilience (RISE lab) in Shanghai, China.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning!
On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China, it’s a pleasure to welcome you all here to the launch of RISE Lab – UNDP China and Tongji University's joint SDG Innovation Lab on Climate and Disaster Resilience.
As a global leading institution in civil engineering, urban planning, and infrastructure design, Tongji University is truly a fitting location for UNDP to collaborate in addressing one of the most existential crises of our generation – the climate crisis and the onslaught of disasters that are arising from it.
From increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events, to rising sea levels and worsening food and water scarcity, we are being sent a very clear message - climate change poses the most significant challenge to our lives, livelihoods and economies worldwide.
The cost of these impacts is mounting. Over the past 50 years, extreme weather events are estimated to have caused two million deaths and cost US$4 trillion in economic losses.
Projections suggest climate-related hazards could lead to an additional $12.5 trillion in economic losses and over two billion healthy life years lost by 2050.
And in most cases, it is the most vulnerable communities who are hit hardest.
While cities are at the heart of this challenge, they are also key to the solution.
UNDP country offices globally currently support more than 100 governments – including 46 Least Developed Countries and 11 Small Island Developing States countries in their efforts to adapt and build resilience to the climate crisis.
The lessons and insights we have gathered globally have shown us that with the right planning, investment, and innovation, urban areas can be powerful drivers of low-carbon growth, green jobs, and resilient infrastructure.
They can be spaces where sustainability, inclusion, and economic prosperity reinforce — rather than compete with — each other.
It is precisely this potential that has led to UNDP China and Tongji University’s launch of RISE Lab in China.
Short for Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability, and Empowerment — RISE Lab will explore cutting-edge solutions to urban challenges and provide a platform for both national and international exchanges on strengthening sustainable development of cities.
Specifically, through targeted activities including capacity-building workshops, joint policy research, and the piloting of new technologies, the Lab will aim to enhance the knowledge of key stakeholders and embed climate and disaster resilience into urban development strategies in China and globally.
"The lessons and insights we have gathered globally have shown us that with the right planning, investment, and innovation, urban areas can be powerful drivers of low-carbon growth, green jobs, and resilient infrastructure. They can be spaces where sustainability, inclusion, and economic prosperity reinforce — rather than compete with — each other. It is precisely this potential that has led to UNDP China and Tongji University’s launch of RISE Lab in China."
Urban innovation must be at the center of efforts not just to withstand natural disasters when they come, but to also catalyze and scale the type of large-scale transformations that are needed to mitigate them in the first place.
Here in China, the government has demonstrated a commitment to green, low-carbon urbanization in its 14th Five-Year Plan through policies and innovations promoting smart, resilient cities, in line with the national dual carbon goals.
RISE Lab will work to complement these efforts, supporting China’s transition toward more sustainable, inclusive cities by serving as a bridge to inform local innovation with global best practice.
At the same time, climate change recognizes no borders.
China’s experience and lessons-learned can provide valuable insights to cities around the world facing similar challenges.
The key to the way forward is redefining and rethinking how our academic institutions, government policymakers, industry, think-tanks and international development partners and organizations collaborate on tangible actions – at the scale and speed needed.
Through RISE Lab, at UNDP, we are committed to working together with our partners and welcome this opportunity to invite all interested institutions to join hands and advance a shared vision of a sustainable and resilient urban future.
Indeed, only through collective action can we hope to address the challenges of our time.
To that end, I want to express my appreciation to the College of Civil Engineering at Tongji University and the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE) as our collaborators on this new journey with the establishment of RISE Lab.
I am confident that RISE Lab will serve as a catalyst-connector-convenor-collaborator for how cities around the world can use innovation to tackle climate and development issues.
Together, we can ensure that cities are not only prepared for the problems of today, but thrive in the face of tomorrow.
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