Monsoon Intelligence - Discussion

South East Asian cities are experiencing more frequent flooding, heat and water scarcity. Nature-based-solutions, combined with indigenous ecological knowledge is proven to be more cost-effective as well as providing other benefits such as social infrastructure. Questions of financing, scaling, mainstreaming and why implementation feels so slow are answered by Sourav Biswas (India), Anggia Murni (Indonesia) and Fong Jeng Jong (Malaysia). This session is moderated by Jeremy Anteorla. Discussants are Ashleigh Hunter (New Zealand) and Dr Kristian Steele (Singapore). Jeremy’s work is linked to conceptual design and planning primarily in collaboration with municipal authorities, public agencies and project developers working at an urban or city scale. He has been involved in all stages of planning, design and construction, and has led multi-disciplinary teams based in multiple locations primarily across the EU, Singapore and southeast Asia, North America and the UAE. His work in the Nordics has primarily been in Denmark and Finland with select projects in Norway and Sweden. The range of project types he has been involved in includes strategic masterplanning, conceptual design development and project implementation; applied R&D projects (BMBF / Germany) researching the impact of blue-green-grey infrastructure in urban areas; multi-stakeholder workshops combining climate adaptation, urban design and adaptive reuse of existing land / assets; cost-benefit analysis of climate adaptive design solutions; and a variety of urban planning and open space design competitions. He was previously Associate Design Director with Ramboll / Henning Larsen. Kristian has a background in civil engineering and a doctorate in environmental technologies, Kristian specialises in whole-life carbon management, emissions mitigation, and climate risk assessment for buildings, infrastructure, and large-scale systems. His work combines advanced analytical approaches—such as life-cycle assessment (LCA) and systems modelling—to support design decisions, organisational strategy, and public-sector policy development. Kristian has advised governments, financial institutions, cities, and major industry players on pathways to net zero, including contributing to national and sector-level roadmaps and frameworks. Notably, he has supported international initiatives on carbon pricing, green building certification, and climate finance, including collaborations with the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and UK government bodies. At Arup, he plays a key role in embedding sustainability and climate intelligence into infrastructure, urban development, and policy-led projects, helping clients navigate the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient futures in the Asia-Pacific region.