Engineers Lead Climate Transition: World Engineers Summit 2025 Highlights Pathways to Smart, Sustainable Cities

SINGAPORE, October 23, 2025 — The World Engineers Summit (WES) 2025 being hosted here from October 22-24 is spotlighting how engineers are shaping smarter, greener, and more climate-resilient cities amid accelerating global sustainability challenges.

Organised by the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), the biennial summit has evolved into one of the world’s foremost gatherings for technology-driven sustainability. Now in its seventh edition, WES 2025 convenes global policymakers, academics, engineers, and industry innovators to address how infrastructure, mobility, and technology can work in concert to build cities equipped for a warming planet.

Themed “Shaping Tomorrow: Engineering Smart Sustainable Cities”, the three-day event at the Orchard Hotel Singapore comes at a defining moment — just months after Singapore submitted its updated national emissions reduction targets to the United Nations.

Engineering for Climate Resilience and Net Zero

The summit’s central message is clear: as the global climate crisis deepens, engineering must move from incremental improvements to systemic transformation. Engineers are at the heart of the transition, developing solutions that not only decarbonise cities but also make them more inclusive, safe, and adaptive.

Mr Desmond Tan

Opening the summit as Guest-of-Honour, Mr Desmond Tan, Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office and Deputy Secretary-General, National Trades Union Congress, underscored Singapore’s continued push for sustainable urban innovation.

WES 2025’s new Special Sessions reflect the profession’s pivot toward deep systems thinking, with discussions on systems engineering, asset management, and Vision Zero — a global strategy to eliminate workplace fatalities and environmental harm through proactive, sustainable design.

“The climate crisis is the defining challenge of our time,” said Er. Chan Ewe Jin, President of IES. “Engineers are at the heart of this transformation, designing solutions that make cities more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable. WES 2025 provides the platform for our profession to contribute ideas, share expertise, and build partnerships that help societies meet these global challenges head-on.”

Global Collaboration for Urban Sustainability

Delegates from more than 10 countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China, India, the UK, Spain, and Australia, are participating in the summit. With the support of international organisations such as the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO), and the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP), WES 2025 has become a critical platform for advancing cross-border collaboration on sustainability and climate innovation.

Five distinguished plenary speakers headlined the opening session, including His Excellency Hiroshi Ishikawa, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore; Mr Thomas Ardian Siregar, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Indonesia; and Professor Liu Bin, Deputy President (Research and Technology) at the National University of Singapore.

His Excellency Hiroshi Ishikawa,

Their discussions focused on technological and policy integration, from decarbonising transport and infrastructure to accelerating clean energy transitions and circular economy practices.

Innovation in Action: Site Visits and Applied Sustainability

Beyond dialogue, WES 2025 offers hands-on insights into Singapore’s sustainable development model. Delegates will tour the Punggol Digital District, designed as the nation’s first integrated digital and smart city ecosystem, and the SingSpring Desalination Plant, a symbol of water sustainability and energy efficiency in resource-scarce environments.

Four technical tracks further explore critical areas — including green building practices, urban mobility innovations, educational technologies, and climate-resilient engineering solutions — showcasing how science and systems design can directly advance decarbonisation.

“This year’s programme is one of our most comprehensive yet,” said Ms Jasmine Foo, Chair of the WES 2025 Organising Committee. “Delegates can expect fresh insights, practical solutions, and opportunities to collaborate across borders on issues that shape sustainable urban futures.”

Ms Jasmine Foo

Established in 1966, the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) has long been a national voice for sustainable engineering. As Singapore’s premier professional body for engineers, IES advises the Government on infrastructure policy, climate resilience, and sustainability strategy.

It maintains close partnerships with universities and polytechnics to advance professional training, while representing Singapore in major regional organisations such as AFEO and FEIAP. Internationally, IES achieved full signatory status in the Washington Accord in 2006, becoming the first ASEAN country to gain mutual recognition of engineering qualifications — a move that strengthened its role in setting global sustainability standards for infrastructure and education.

At its core, WES 2025 reflects the growing recognition that engineering excellence and climate action are inseparable. By merging technological innovation, systems thinking, and global collaboration, the summit positions engineers not just as builders of cities, but as architects of the sustainable future.