Siemens Ltd together with the City of Melbourne and Federation Square have joined together to release critical productivity research designed to bring Melbourne back to the liveability standards of #2 and #3 in the world with the release of new Picture the Future Productivity research addressing population growth, emissions intensity and urban congestion for Melbourne and Victoria.

 

According to the research, by 2030, population growth in cities is estimated to increase by 60 per cent and Melbourne's population is set to surpass 5 million (currently 4 million today) by 2030.

 

The study suggests that by 2020 urban congestion alone is estimated to cost Melburnian's $4.9 billion per annum and by 2020 this figure will rise to $7.1 billion if productivity is not addressed.

 

CEO and Managing Director of Siemens Ltd, Albert Goller, says that despite our productivity challenges Siemens pictures a positive outlook for Melbourne and indicates that by addressing our cities and infrastructure challenges now, we will open up new opportunities for our city and state.

 

"Already, 50 percent of the world's population lives in cities,"

 

"We can't change the global megatrend of urbanisation, but we can change the way we live to make sure our future generations can enjoy the same enviable lifestyles we've had in the last century by seriously addressing the issues that contribute to declining productivity" says Mr Goller.

 

The research has also revealed that the State of Victoria has one of the highest emissions intensity (Co2-e emissions per kilowatt hour of energy) of all Australian states due to dependence on brown coal power generation.

 

To address this, one of the panellists, CEO of Federation Square Kate Brennan has tackled the issue of energy efficiency to minimise the attraction's impact on this emissions intensity figure.

 

"Energy efficiency at Federation Square has long been a focus for Melbourne's most iconic attraction but this research and public forum will shed some light onto practical responses which result in change while maintaining maximum output and productivity," said Ms Brennan.

 

Siemens has quantified the study after working with research partners including CSIRO, the Grattan Institute and the Institute of Sustainable Futures to validate the findings of the study.