New global ranking shows that in complex buildings markets, the ability to assure cost, schedule and delivery confidence is becoming a source of competitive advantage

AMSTERDAM, July 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Arcadis (EURONEXT: ARCAD), the world’s leading company delivering data-driven sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets, today announced that Geneva remains the world’s most expensive city in which to build, ahead of London and Zurich, according to its 2026 International Construction Cost Index.

The annual index, which compares construction costs across 100 major cities, shows that the world’s highest-cost construction markets remain concentrated in mature, complex cities with deep demand and constrained delivery capacity. Geneva ranks first globally, followed by London, Zurich, Munich and Copenhagen. New York City, San Francisco, Dublin, Bristol and Philadelphia complete the global top ten.

While the top of the ranking remains broadly consistent, the wider market context has shifted. Global construction markets are moving from inflation-led uncertainty into a more selective phase of investment, where capital is being deployed more carefully rather than demand simply slowing. For buildings clients, capital is increasingly favouring complex, high-performing assets that support long-term growth — including modern workplaces, healthcare facilities, laboratories, data centres, advanced manufacturing facilities and other highly serviced buildings that underpin digital and energy transition. But higher financing costs, energy volatility, tariff uncertainty and supply-chain constraints are putting greater pressure on project viability and increasing the value of early cost intelligence, scenario planning, procurement strategy and disciplined programme delivery.

In higher-cost markets, early cost planning can help protect value and secure scarce supply-chain capacity. In lower-cost markets, clients still need to test market readiness, infrastructure availability and delivery resilience before committing capital.

Edel Christie, Global President – Places, Arcadis, said: “Construction cost is no longer just a measure of price, and Arcadis’ International Construction Cost Index is no longer simply a guide to where construction is most or least expensive. It shows where cost, capacity, delivery risk and investment confidence are converging. That matters because cost is not the same as deliverability: projects should be designed, procured and planned around real-world conditions and the local realities that shape delivery.

“The need to build has not gone away. Cities still need homes, infrastructure, resilient energy systems, modern workplaces and digital infrastructure to support the next generation of economic growth. The opportunity is clear, but investment will flow to places and programmes where delivery is credible, viable and achievable — not just cheap to build.”

This is particularly evident in highly serviced assets such as data centres, where power availability, successful sourcing of long lead-in equipment, supply-chain capacity and speed-to-market are now more important to investment decisions than local construction costs.

The index also highlights the breadth of cost variation across global construction markets. While high-cost locations are concentrated in Europe, the UK and North America, some of the lowest-cost locations are found across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Bengaluru ranks as the least expensive city in the index, followed by Buenos Aires, Delhi, Mumbai and Ho Chi Minh City.

The important distinction is that lower headline costs do not translate into easier or more reliable delivery. Market readiness, grid capacity, permitting, supply-chain depth, skills availability and access to specialist contractors are increasingly decisive in determining whether projects can move from planning to construction.

Todd Burns, Global Service Executive for Program Management, Arcadis, said: “In today’s market, upfront cost is no longer the sole focus. The bigger questions are now about how quickly a project can generate revenue, how efficiently capital can be deployed and how confidently it can be delivered as market conditions change.

“That requires cost, schedule, procurement and risk decisions to be brought together much earlier, so clients can test trade-offs before they become expensive to change. Done well, that helps protect viability, secure the right market capacity and move more quickly from investment case to revenue.”

Top ten most expensive cities to build in, 2026

GenevaLondonZurichMunichCopenhagenNew York CitySan FranciscoDublinBristolPhiladelphia

The full Arcadis International Construction Cost Index 2026 report is available to read and download here.

ABOUT ARCADIS ICC 
The Arcadis International Construction Cost Index compares the relative cost of construction across 100 global cities. The index is based on a survey of construction costs, review of market conditions and the professional judgement of Arcadis’ global team of experts. Costs are indexed against Amsterdam, which is set at 100.

The index is designed to compare the relative costs of delivering the same building functions in different cities. It excludes land, demolition, external works and services, risk allowances, professional fees and local sales taxes. It does not account for purchasing power parity.

ABOUT ARCADIS
Arcadis is the world’s leading company delivering data-driven sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. We are around 34,000 architects, data analysts, designers, engineers, project planners, water management and sustainability experts, all driven by our passion for improving quality of life. As part of our commitment to accelerating a planet positive future, we work with our clients to make sustainable project choices, combining digital and human innovation, and embracing future-focused skills across the environment, energy and water, buildings, transport, and infrastructure sectors. We operate in over 30 countries, and reported €4.9 billion in gross revenues for 2025. www.arcadis.com

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SOURCE Arcadis

CALGARY, Alberta, July 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the Friends of Science Society celebrates its 24ᵗʰ year of operation, they issue a debate challenge on climate and Net Zero targets, to the upstart UN “Friends of Science” group, described in this June 17, 2026, report by Inside Climate News on the Bonn Climate Conference.

Friends of Science Society’s climate intelligence partner, Clintel, issued a call for debate back in 2019 when Greta Thunberg’s famous “How Dare You” speech triggered a global movement based on an assumed climate emergency. The Friends of Science Society’s video read-out of Clintel’s letter to UN Sec. Gen. Antonio Guterres went viral, with over 700,000 views, before @facebook started blocking it. Clintel’s new president is former Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, author of “Blue Planet in Green Shackles,” among other books and papers.

Friends of Science Society and Clintel’s global network of over 2,000 scientists and scholars look forward to opportunities to engage in open, civil debate with the UN upstart “Friends of Science.” As reported by Politico, Clintel signatory Dr. Matthew Wielicki will lead the next US National Climate Assessment.

Clintel’s German Ambassador, Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt, speaks frankly about the problems with Net Zero targets and climate change in the re-released award-winning documentary by Canadian Mathew Embry. The film is titled, “Global Warning,” and is now free to view on YouTube. Embry follows famous climate activist Catherine Abreu to the 2019 Bonn Climate Conference, showing how activists have personal access to Canadian climate negotiators.

Prime Minister Carney frequently repeats that “Canada has what the world wants” and the recent G7 Statement reflects that interest. Alberta’s Premier Smith says the federal government has “9 Bad Laws” that must be repealed in order to drive investment and get oil and gas products to world markets. Premier Smith, then a radio talk show host, is also prominently featured in Embry’s “Global Warning” which was filmed during an oil and real estate market crash in Alberta.

While energy mavens at Doomberg believe that Carney is turning away from his climate obsession, Robert Lyman’s new report shows that “a leopard does not change its spots.” Lyman is in favor of reform for approving major projects, but he lays out the challenges in this submission to the government.

Friends of Science Society says that “Canada is Caught in a Green Spider Web.”

Embry’s film contrasts the ideology of climate activists with down-to-earth scientific commentary by Prof. Vahrenholt. Vahrenholt was once an industry leader and proponent of major wind farm operations. In “Global Warning”, Vahrenholt, an environmentalist now, expresses his deep concern that wind farms are wiping out rare birds and bats, driving energy poverty and deindustrialization in Germany. Vahrenholt is the co-author of a number of peer-reviewed papers and books that explore how the Sun drives climate change.

Embry brings Abreu face-to-face with Canada’s Dr. Ian Clark, as in this 2020 interview clip for Friends of Science Society. But Abreu is unmoved by Clark’s scientific explanation that there is no climate crisis and carbon dioxide from human industry is not the driving force in climate change.

Global fear of a climate emergency stemmed from the misuse of a climate scenario known as RCP 8.5 (SSP5-8.5) which the official climate modelling community has now abandoned, deeming it to be ‘implausible.’ The website “TheyKnew.com” reports that, “For over a decade, a single extreme climate scenario — RCP8.5 — powered nearly every alarming headline, regulation, lawsuit, and school curriculum on climate change. Scientists flagged it as unrealistic as early as 2017. The institutions that kept using it knew.”

The demand for “climate action” is now unnecessary as the imaginary climate emergency is over. Friends of Science Society took some 300 Mayors and councillors in Canada to task for their “Elbows Up for Climate” demands in this report challenging their “climate madness” and video. The “climate mayors” method of financing these extraordinary “Elbows Up” demands? A windfall tax on Big Oil.

“Electrify Now” – the latest thing from the EU, Canada and other nations, is doomed to fail due as outlined in this Friends of Science Society video.

“What are Climate Policies Costing Canada?“- some $476 billion on climate action (2020-2030). Since the phantom climate emergency is over, those borrowed billions should be redirected to more pragmatic concerns, or better yet not spent at all.

About
Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens that is celebrating its 24th year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2).

Friends of Science Society
PO Box 61172 RPO Kensington
Calgary AB T2N 4S6
Canada
Toll-free Telephone: 1-888-789-9597
Web: friendsofscience.org 
E-mail: contact@friendsofscience.org 
Web: climatechange101.ca

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SOURCE Friends of Science Society

MUNICH, July 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — During the Intersolar Europe 2026 exhibition, Sungrow and TÜV Rheinland jointly launched the world’s first quantitative long-term reliability standards for PV inverters, including 2 PfG 3325 Reliability test qualification for IGBT modules in photovoltaic power systems and power electronic converter systems and 2 PfG 3328 – Part 2 Specifications for Reliability Testing and Assessment of Power Electronic Products – Part 2: Power Conversion Equipment (PCE).

Sungrow’s SG510HX string inverter and its IGBT modules were among the first products certified under the two standards, providing early validation of the framework in practical applications.

Meeting the Demands of Modern PV Plants

As PV power plants continue to expand into increasingly demanding environments such as deserts, offshore locations, and high-altitude regions, ensuring inverter reliability over 25 years of operation has become increasingly important for project owners and investors. However, existing reliability qualification methodologies were not originally designed to fully capture the increasingly diverse and demanding operating conditions of modern PV plants, creating a gap between laboratory qualification and long-term field performance.

To address this challenge, Sungrow and TÜV Rheinland have developed a comprehensive reliability evaluation framework that enables a more scientific, quantitative, and traceable assessment of inverter lifetime performance.

From Systems to Components: A Unified Reliability Validation Framework

Facing the shortcomings of traditional standards, the dual framework establishes a robust, quantifiable reliability methodology spanning the entire “system-component” validation continuum.

2 PfG 3325 (IGBT Reliability Test Standard) is a component-level standard, addressing the failure mechanisms and lifetime models of power semiconductors under stresses such as thermal cycling and power cycling. 2 PfG 3328 – Part 2 is a system-level reliability verification standard, focusing on the performance degradation and lifetime assessment of PV inverter complete machines under complex environmental stresses, with core emphasis on verifying the product’s environmental adaptability within the designed service life.

Together, the standards establish a system-to-component validation chain: 2 PfG 3325 provides a quantitative data basis for inverter -level reliability modeling and supplier evaluation, while 2 PfG 3328 – Part 2 defines a unified inverter -level validation framework with testable and traceable criteria.

New Standards Upgraded for Complex Scenarios

Addressing the issue of insufficient coverage in traditional standard scenarios, the standards added several enhanced test items designed for complex operating conditions.

At the system level, 2 PfG 3328 – Part 2 covers long-term durability, environmental adaptability, and grid-connected operation under diverse operating conditions, with additional requirements such as 4,000-hour accelerated aging tests and continuous low- and high-voltage ride-through verification.At the IGBT level, 2 PfG 3325 strengthens conventional qualification methods by extending HTGB testing to 168 hours at 1.1 × VGES and introducing an additional 500 temperature cycles under mechanical loading conditions beyond the standard 2,000-cycle thermal cycling requirement.

The standards significantly strengthen reliability verification by expanding test coverage for complex operating scenarios.

Quantifiable Lifetime Assessment

To improve the quantitative assessment of long-term field reliability, the standards establish data-driven lifetime models based on extensive field performance data from PV power plants. The standards also draw on automotive components’ reliability testing and quality verification standards such as VW 80000 and GMW 3172, adopting more stringent test approaches to evaluate long-term stability under complex operating conditions.

“The two standards establish a structured and verifiable framework for long-term inverter reliability evaluation, offering valuable references for manufacturers, investors, and insurers in assessing lifecycle performance,” said Thomas Haupt, Vice President of Solar & Commercial Products, European Region of TÜV Rheinland Group.

Why Sungrow

As the pioneering architect of these standards, Sungrow leveraged its 29 years of expertise in power electronics together with extensive global project experience and operational insights across diverse climates and applications. Steering the reliability evaluation of PV inverters away from subjective empirical deductions toward a scientifically quantifiable, verifiable, and traceable future.

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