“I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome – on both finance and mitigation – to meet the great challenge we face,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres leaving Baku after COP29, the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The conference unveiled notable tensions between attending nations, but ended with developed countries committed to providing $300 billion annually to support developing nations in their climate adaptation and mitigation efforts by 2035. Although many participants criticized the pledge as inadequate given the growing impacts of climate change, Guterres welcomed this agreement as “absolutely essential to keep the 1.5-degree limit alive,” and “a base on which to build and add.”
But COP29 was not only about climate finance. The Conference significantly acknowledged the importance of digital technology and environmental monitoring for effective climate action. Transparent reporting and robust data collection were central themes in Baku, and the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action received endorsements from more than 1,000 governments, companies, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders.
Undoubtedly, digitalization and the growing use of digital assets have a relevant environmental impact: think of the amount of energy and water used for running servers and large data centres, or the e-waste produced. But the UN International Telecommunications Union underlined that digital technologies can accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as they play a key role for climate monitoring, early warning systems, and overall climate adaptation and mitigation.
Artificial intelligence and big data can help to optimize the energy consumption of our digital world. Smart IoT solutions can make energy-intensive applications such as street lighting more efficient, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions in cities and public spaces. Environmental sensors can feed data-driven decisions and emergency tools to inform and warn communities when extreme weather or heat waves come.
The COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action commits governments and signatories to encourage the adoption of sustainable technologies to accelerate GHG emissions abatement and energy efficiency, and enhance climate monitoring emergency preparedness capabilities through the broader use of digital technologies, including mobile early warning systems.
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