ICT & its Possible Contribution to COP26 Goals
Climate change presents environmental, economic, and social challenges that demand an immediate and meaningful response on a global scale from all sectors of society, including the Information and Communication Technology sector.
Information and communication technology enabled strategies such as Geospatial data collection and climate predicting software, hold large potential to better aid decarbonization solutions. But more than only providing carbon reduction opportunities for the ICT sector it can also enable other sectors of the economy to reduce their climate impact. Doing so will not only help address and minimize the impacts of climate change, but it will also support economic growth, and promote investments and create green jobs that will help avoid irreversible damage to our economies, societies, and planet.
Companies such as Google show how to practically contribute to the COP26 goals by providing consumers with the information to make informed decisions, for example consumers searching for flights on google where shown the carbon footprint of alternative travel options. Data collection is another vital area in the fight against climate change as consistent collection promotes accountability by having a reporting system that holds countries, companies and entities accountable.
The application of artificial intelligence (AI) is another area in which Google has dedicated themselves to climate change. Using AI in their data centres Google reduced its energy output by around 30%. Using AI in this fashion is a model that can be carried across to different companies, as the private sector is a critical element in driving change.
However, no sector or company can solve all climate challenges and real change requires a complex democratic system that values the sharing of factual data and transparency on the part of all parties involved.
Readings:
https://www.itic.org/policy/environment-sustainability/2021united-nations-climate-change-conference-cop26 https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/39132/cop26-how-candata-technology-and-the-private-sector-fight-climate-change