Malin Fischer

Malin Sophie Fischer works at VIDA, a geospatial software company that enables smarter energy planning and climate risk assessments for international financing institutions and governments. As Lead Data Solutions & Product, she transforms complex geospatial analytics into tailored, user-friendly software that supports national electrification planning and informed investment decisions, particularly in the Global South. She is dedicated to making data-driven insights accessible for inclusive and sustainable development.

Planning Energy Access from Space: Geospatial Modeling for Grid Expansion (Papua New Guinea)

The presentation showcases how up-to-date satellite imagery and smart geospatial analytics can support better investment planning. By mapping buildings and roads around Wewak, Papua New Guinea, from space and applying local assumptions through techno-economic modelling, we identify where grid extensions to nearby communities are feasible, what they may cost, and how more remote households can be reached with off-grid solutions.

Risk-informed Urban Infrastructure Planning: Applying Climate and Disaster Risk Information

Alex Nash spoke on risk-informed planning and noted that such approaches are more about process than destination. That is, a good plan is one that adapts to new information and is “resilient” to the information being imperfect--important in the context of climate uncertainty and the multi-dimensional nature of associated risks that need to be tackled.