COP29: Science, Technology, Innovation and Digitalization

Roundtable on the Role of Digitalization

Day 6, or ‘Digitalization Day’ – the first of its kind at a UN conference – featured a High-Level Roundtable on Green Digital Action, convened by the COP29 Presidency with the support of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the TEC.

The roundtable concluded with the adoption of the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action. Building on the efforts launched at COP28 in Dubai last year, the declaration recognizes the importance of digital technologies in mitigating and adapting to climate change, while highlighting their adverse impacts on the climate.

The ITU highlighted that, by harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, data centers can optimize energy efficiency, streamline operations and reduce their carbon footprint. However, growing levels of digitization demand more energy and raise greenhouse gas emissions. The demand for electricity to supply technologies such as AI puts the pressure on renewable energy industries to keep pace.

The eight objectives set out in the declaration underscore how digital innovations can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide life-saving tools to inform and warn communities. Some of these objectives include:

• Applying digital technologies to address the largest climate issues, including greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and climate monitoring
• Developing technological infrastructure that is resilient to the impacts of climate change
• Reducing emissions and the climate impact of digital technologies
• Utilizing climate data to measure sustainability solutions and monitor regulatory adherence
• Collaborating and sharing best practices to maximize technological benefits.

The declaration received endorsements from more than 90 governments and over 1,000 members of the digital technology community.

Policy Brief on Early Warning Technologies

Earlier in the week, the TEC launched a new policy brief focused on technologies for climate resilience policy and action. The brief highlights various technologies, from earth observation satellites to AI applications, which can help identify early warning signs of climate disasters and the risks posed by climate change.

The policy brief urges governments to engage local communities in developing early warning systems, to strategically integrate high- and low-tech solutions and to encourage investment in scalable, mobile technologies to aid accessibility for developing countries.

AI Innovation Grand Challenge Award

At COP28, the TEC launched the AI Innovation Grand Challenge, aiming to identify and support the development of AI solutions to address climate change in the most vulnerable developing countries.

Dr Letetia Addison of Trinidad and Tobago was announced as the winner of this year’s competition for her proposal, ‘AI-Driven Climate Resilience Platform for Small Island Developing States’. Addison’s proposal autonomously collects and processes real-time data from various internet sources, and provides communities with educational resources in local languages through multiple media channels.

Along with the four runners-up, Addison will share over USD 5 million in technology and services to help further develop their AI-powered climate solutions.

Other key headlines from Saturday

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell issued an announcement to G20 leaders pressing for clear signals of climate action, as the G20 Summit begins in Rio de Janeiro on the 18 November. The message urged world leaders to address the climate crisis at the top of the order of business, and to focus on climate finance and debt relief for vulnerable countries.

Further reading on COP29

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