Climate Resilience

NEW YORK – November 05, 2026 -- Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $766 million, or $2.07 a share, up from $688 million, or $1.91 a share, a year earlier, and narrowed its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $6.05-$6.15 a share.

Adjusted quarterly earnings climb 12% year on year

Third-quarter adjusted earnings (non-GAAP) were $766 million, or $2.07 a share, against $686 million, or $1.90 a share, in the 2025 quarter. That is roughly 12% growth in adjusted earnings and 9% in adjusted earnings per share. The 2025 figures exclude accretion of the basis difference of Con Edison's equity interest in Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (MVP).

Bremen – October 30, 2026 -- At current reinvestment rates, fully renewing Europe's drinking water networks would take between roughly 90 years in Belgium and 1,000 years in Finland, according to a new study by engineering consultancy Sweco.

The study, titled "Old Pipes, New Pressure" (German: "Alte Rohre, neuer Druck"), uses EurEau investment data from 2026 and reported network lengths. It finds that spending levels alone do not show whether networks are being renewed at a sustainable pace.

EU water sector faces a EUR 23 billion annual investment gap

The European Commission puts the yearly investment gap in the EU water sector at EUR 23 billion. European utilities already spend about EUR 52.5 billion a year on drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Rising demand, deteriorating water resources and inflation are keeping investment growth from keeping pace.

BEIJING – October 30, 2026 -- The 11th Global Mazu Culture Forum opens October 31 in Putian, Fujian Province, with overseas guests from 47 countries and regions and the release of version 2.0 of China's open-source Mass Conservation Ocean Model (MaCOM).

MaCOM 2.0 goes open-source worldwide at the Putian forum

The forum runs through November 2. It comprises a main forum, 10 thematic forums and supporting events across 13 additional venues. MaCOM was developed independently by China and will be available globally as open-source software.

MAZU early warning solution reaches eight countries, with 50 more on cloud access

As of October 2026, the MAZU meteorological early warning solution is deployed in eight countries, including Pakistan, Ethiopia and the Solomon Islands, according to Chinese meteorological authorities. More than 50 other countries access it through a cloud platform.

Europe – October 21, 2026 -- Capgemini and Microsoft are offering cities an as-a-service, AI-native City Support Center that merges multi-agency data into one operating picture for floods and urban heat events, aiming to avoid the cost of bespoke platform builds.

Siloed agencies drive delays, duplication and rising maintenance costs

In flood and heat island scenarios, water authorities, transport departments, health bodies and first responders typically each focus on their own responsibilities, with little data transparency between them. The result is delayed interventions, inefficient resource deployment, duplicated effort and counterproductive actions. Maintenance spending also rises because of potentially preventable damage, adding pressure on already stretched local government budgets.

Stockholm – October 05, 2026 -- Europe's water utilities currently invest roughly €52.5 billion annually in drinking-water and wastewater infrastructure, yet the European Commission estimates an annual funding gap of around €23 billion, according to a new Urban Insight report from engineering and consultancy firm Sweco.

Replacement rates lag decades behind network age across EU member states

Sweco's analysis, titled Transforming Europe's Water Infrastructure, finds that at current reinvestment rates, the time needed to fully replace a country's drinking-water network ranges from roughly 90 years in Belgium to approximately 1,000 years in Lithuania. Finland and Poland both exceed 500 years, while several other countries fall between 120 and 200 years.

Virginia Beach, Va. – September 30, 2026 -- Arcadis joined the City of Virginia Beach to break ground on the Windsor Woods Pump Station, a key infrastructure piece in a citywide flood-resilience network covering the Windsor Woods, Princess Anne Plaza and The Lakes neighborhoods.

Pump station anchors a broader drainage improvements program funded by voters

The facility forms a cornerstone of the Windsor Woods, Princess Anne Plaza and The Lakes Drainage Improvements Program, designed to reduce flood risk from heavy rainfall, high tides and storm surge. The project is financed through Virginia Beach's voter-supported Ripple Effect Flood Protection Program and extends earlier investments into a coordinated citywide flood-defense system.

Beijing – September 22, 2026 -- China's AI-powered meteorological early-warning system "MAZU" has been deployed for cloud-based trials in more than 40 countries, including Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Solomon Islands, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Djibouti, since its 2025 launch.

China Meteorological Administration unveils AI system as first tool under UN Early Warnings for All initiative

Released by the China Meteorological Administration at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, "MAZU" combines AI-based forecasting models, Fengyun satellite data, multi-source monitoring products and cloud computing infrastructure into a single early-warning platform. The system offers both standardized menu-style solutions and customized configurations for country-specific disaster risks.

Johnston, Iowa and Ghent, Belgium – September 21, 2026 -- Vylor, the seed and genetics company set to spin off from Corteva on October 1, 2026, has partnered with Belgium's Rainbow Crops to develop climate-resilient corn traits using AI-driven multiplex gene editing.

Rainbow Crops' Trait Foundry platform edits hundreds of genes simultaneously

The collaboration will deploy Rainbow Crops' AI-supported Trait Foundry™ technology, which combines multiplex genome editing, precision breeding and automated phenotyping to accelerate development of corn hybrids resistant to heat, drought and flooding. Mat Muller, who will lead Vylor Edge, Vylor's investment arm, said the platform allows scientists to make hundreds of gene edits simultaneously while validating performance through phenotyping facilities and field trials.

Lisle, Ill. – September 19, 2026 -- The Morton Arboretum's "Green City Rising: People and Trees Thriving Together" concept was named a co-winner of the Horizon Lines: Visions for Chicago 2050 competition, World Business Chicago announced Sept. 15 at the City Club of Chicago.

Arboretum plan beat nearly 200 submissions to reach six finalists

"Green City Rising" reimagines Chicago as a connected network of tree-centric green spaces designed to give every neighborhood a healthy tree canopy by 2050. Landscape architecture firm MKSK was named the other co-winner for its "Wonderways!" proposal to convert Chicago's boulevards into a network of climate commons.