COP29: Digital technologies key in the fight against climate change

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The 29th World Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, is overshadowed by various conflicts of interest and financing issues. Nevertheless, the delegates were able to agree on a COP29 declaration on "Green Digital Action". According to the delegates, it is an explicit step towards greater integration of digital technologies into global efforts to combat climate change. The declaration aims to harness the potential of digital technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to climate change while minimizing the negative environmental impacts of digitalization. The statement leaves open exactly how this can be achieved, but it is quite clear in its analysis of the fundamental interrelationships.

The press release emphasizes the crucial role of digital innovations, which can serve as catalysts for sustainable developments. This includes improving energy efficiency, supporting climate adaptation measures and promoting renewable energies through digital solutions such as smart grids and mobile early warning systems. However, the downside is also addressed: the considerable ecological costs of digitalization, in particular the energy consumption of data centers and the problematic disposal of e-waste.

Fingers in the wounds

One problem is that there is hardly any transparent and comparable data on energy consumption and emissions in the ICT sector. As a result, there is no stable basis for an effective climate strategy. In the opinion of the delegates, too many stakeholders are stonewalling here. According to the delegates, conflicts in this regard require careful consideration of the benefits and risks as well as increased international cooperation in order to ensure that digital technologies actually contribute to achieving global climate targets and do not counteract them.

The delegates particularly emphasize that one of the reasons why there are disputes about contributions to strengthening climate protection is that access to digital technologies is unevenly distributed around the world. This refers to the different levels of digitalization mainly between industrialized countries and so-called developing countries. While wealthier nations benefit from the advantages of digitalization, many poorer countries are left behind, which could reinforce existing global inequalities. The declaration aims to promote access to technology in developing and emerging countries and support educational initiatives.

In the wider context, the declaration is part of a broader movement that has been gaining momentum among countries for several years. Previous initiatives, such as the integration of digital technologies into national climate targets and cooperation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have laid the groundwork, but have not yet focused on individual aspects in as much detail as the current declaration.

COP29: Concerned about disinformation on climate change

In the introduction, the delegates set out in eight points why they consider international action to be necessary. Of particular interest is the delegates' statement that digital technologies are also associated with negative aspects for the climate, which has rarely been formulated so clearly to date. The fact that a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the ICT sector could make a significant contribution to climate protection also shifted the focus, which had previously been mainly on the energy generation and heavy industry sectors. The delegates expressed deep concern about disinformation campaigns and misinformation about the causes and effects of climate change and about measures to counteract them.

The delegates included a number of measures on the list, such as better climate monitoring and forecasting. The delegates also want to use digital technologies and early warning systems to strengthen preparedness and the ability to react more quickly in an emergency. The delegates also include measures for more robust networks, which explicitly does not just mean energy networks.

Standards and guidelines should limit the resource intensity of digital technologies and their energy consumption. This also includes extending product life cycles, which seems to be a very ambitious goal considering the rally for new smartphones and graphics cards as well as new processors, gadgets of all kinds and, finally, new car models.

The delegates want to put an end to the game of hide-and-seek about which measures contribute how much to greenhouse gas emissions by introducing standardized metrics. The delegates also want this data to contribute more to the decisions made than before. To this end, the delegates want to establish standards that better assess the net climate impact of so-called green digital solutions. It is clear to the signatories that this will cost money, but the declaration leaves details on what is certainly the most important point open.

The declaration does, however, contain a pointer in the direction of countries in which intellectual property rights to developments do not count for much. Accordingly, the delegates consider it important to protect these rights in particular to create incentives for innovation. After all, the delegates also have an eye on exaggerations from patent wars and also want to promote open source and open hardware, which are described somewhat vaguely as "cooperative measures" and somewhat more clearly as "open access".

Shaky legs

According to the delegates, all of this should be incorporated into national action through increased international cooperation on knowledge and exchange platforms. In summary, the COP29 declaration shows that digital technologies are not only part of the problem, but can also be part of the solution. The challenge now is to put these ambitious goals into practice and ensure that digital innovations actually contribute to achieving the climate targets without creating new environmental problems.

Nevertheless, against the backdrop of ongoing disputes, the declaration still seems bold. Although the countries feel compelled in principle to achieve the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement, it is still unclear who can contribute how much. One key issue is the financing of climate protection measures, particularly in poorer countries. The number of donor countries for the 1,300 billion US dollars in public funds required annually according to the World Climate Conference is small. So far, 25 countries, including France and Germany, have come together to form a group of particularly ambitious payers. China, on the other hand, is not paying.

The funds are primarily intended for the expansion of renewable energies, peatland and forest protection and other climate protection measures in developing countries. However, the attitude of the future US government and that of other governments of industrialized countries and former emerging economies does not suggest that the declaration will carry much weight.

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