Emma Okonji
Global tech and environment leaders attending the ongoing Unite Nation’s COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, have endorsed a declaration on boosting climate action with digital technologies while cutting the environmental impacts of those same technologies.
In total, endorsements representing over 1,000 governments, companies, civil society organizations, international and regional organizations, and other stakeholders were received for the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action.
The declaration was presented at the weekend during a high-level roundtable of the COP29 Digitalisation Day convened by the COP29 Presidency with the support of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
During the presentation, President of COP29 and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Mukhtar Babayev, said: “The first-ever Digitalisation Day at COP29 marks a new chapter in climate action, embedding digital technology as a transformative tool. With the launch of the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action, we have a unique opportunity to combat the climate crisis while urging the digital industry to take responsibility for its environmental footprint. From Artificial Intelligence (AI) in climate modelling to optimising renewable energy systems, digital advancements are key to accelerating sustainable solutions on a global scale.”
Digitalisation Day, the first ever at a UN Climate Conference and the resulting Declaration are part of a series of COP29 activities focused on tech and climate action organised by ITU and its partners for Green Digital Action 2024.
According to ITU Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, “This milestone moment for Green Digital Action at COP29 should propel us forward with the shared belief that we can and must reduce the environmental footprint of digital technologies while leveraging their undeniable potential to tackle the climate crisis. Let’s keep building our green digital momentum all the way to COP30, and with it, a more sustainable digital future for generations to come.”
The COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action recognises the importance of digital technologies to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The objectives in the declaration underscore how digital innovations can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide life-saving tools to inform and warn global communities.
Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiyev, said: “These technologies are an important driving force towards achieving the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially in areas such as climate monitoring, early warning systems and building resilience to climate challenges.”
The declaration also highlights the adverse impacts of digital technologies themselves on the climate, such as the growing resource consumption and emissions associated with data centres and AI, the carbon and pollution footprints of tech manufacturing. The growing challenge of e-waste is also underscored.
The declaration, which also promotes digital inclusion and accessibility, is built around eight common objectives.
Sharing best practices for digital policies and technologies to reduce GHG emissions and enhance adaptation and resilience, World Bank’s Vice President for Digital Transformation, Sangbu Kim, said: “The World Bank is committed to supporting a green digital transformation. Last year, our green digital investments increased three-fold to $700 million. We are committed to expanding this support to help countries implement the objectives of the Green Digital Declaration.”
Green Digital Action was established at COP28 in Dubai last year with a call for the tech industry to transparently report and systematically reduce emissions, among other commitments.
