At the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly, world and digital-industry leaders discuss how environmental action must be backed by latest technologies, including earth observations, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the Internet of Things.
How do we get to a more sustainable and inclusive future if we don’t know where we are? This is where data comes in and, right now, we do not have the data we need.
These were some of the questions asked at the Third Global Session of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum held during the UN Environment Assembly. The virtual discussion delved into the role of big data and frontier tech in the transition to a sustainable future.
Opening the session, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen said science needed to be digitized so it could be more democratic and accessible. She said digital transformation is central to UNEP’s new Medium-Term Strategy.
“Big data and new tech can support real-time monitoring of the environment, help consumers adopt more sustainable behaviour, and create sustainable value chains,” she said. “The [UN] Secretary-General has made it very clear that digital transformation has to be part and parcel of the UN … we have oceans of data but drops of information.”
UNEP studies show that for 68 per cent of the environment-related Sustainable Development Goal indicators, there is not enough data to assess progress.
At the event, participants stressed that knowledge obtained through the latest digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the Internet of Things could speed up progress on environmental goals. Better data could inform interventions and investment, while boosting results and impact measurement.
Bridging the data divide
The data deficit is also hindering the world’s ability to respond to climate change.
Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, said earth observation systems and early warning services were still poor in parts of the world, with around US$ 400 million needed to improve these.
“That is one of the ways to adapt to climate change - to invest in early warning services and observation systems. We have to monitor what is happening to the climate but this monitoring is in poor shape,” he said.
Making the right technology available to developing countries not only presents a financing challenge, but also underlines the profound need for accessible, open-source technology.
Munir Akram, President of the UN Economic and Social Council, said bridging the digital divide is critical. He noted that connectivity was only around 17 per cent in the poorest countries compared to above 80 per cent in richer countries.
“We need to build a database for all the open source technologies that are available in the world and could be applied to build greener and more sustainable structures of production and consumption. These technologies are available but there is no composite database to access them,” he said.
UNEP’s digital transformation
UNEP’s commitment to harnessing technology for environmental action begins ‘at home.’ At the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly in 2019, Member States called for a Big Data Strategy for UNEP by 2025.
The organisation is currently undertaking a digital transformation process, while also focusing on four key challenges:
- Help producers measure and disclose the environmental and climate performance of their products and supply chains;
- Help investors assess climate and environmental risks and align global capital flows to climate goals;
- Enable regulators to monitor real-time progress and risks;
- Integrate this data into the digital economy to shape incentives, feedback loops and behaviours.
Indispensable tools
Other cutting-edge digital transformation initiatives are also in progress. UNEP’s World Environment Situation Room, a platform put together by a consortium of Big Data partners in 2019, includes geo-referenced, remote-sensing and earth observation information and collates climate data in near real-time.
At the event, Juliet Kabera, Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority, described how her country had invested heavily in technology, including connectivity, drones and online platforms, such as the citizen e-service portal, Irembo.
“There is no doubt that technology has a critical role in addressing the urgent challenges we all face today, regardless of where we are in the world,” Kabera said. “The COVID-19 pandemic once again reminded us that science and technology remain indispensable tools for humanity at large.”
The UN Science-Policy-Business Forum brings together business, industry, finance, science, government and civil society to examine how best to bring about an urgent shift to sustainable consumption and production. Since 2018, the forum has convened the Working Group on Big Data and Frontier Technologies for the Planet to unite the most influential and inspiring actors tracking the state of the environment through the latest technologies and data gathering. Find out more about the Forum here.
