Launch: Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES)

When: 31 March 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 AM EDT

Where: Online, register here.

The Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) initiative is part of the broader follow-up to the Secretary-General’s Roadmap on Digital Cooperation.

Within the Digital Cooperation Roadmap, the UN Secretary General recognizes the importance of digital technologies for accelerating environment and climate action: "Advancing technology has always been coupled with significant impacts on the environment…the recent advances in technology offer ground-breaking opportunities to monitor and protect the environment, as well as overall planetary health. By harnessing them appropriately, the digital revolution can be steered to combat climate change and advance global sustainability, environmental stewardship and human well-being."

The Coalition, initiated by UNEP, UNDP, the International Science Council, the German Environment Agency, the Kenyan Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Future Earth and Sustainability in the Digital Age, will lead a global multi-stakeholder process and convene a series of events to firmly anchor environmental sustainability needs within the Digital Cooperation Roadmap and catalyse a digital planet for sustainability.

CODES has established an initial set of core objectives that are subject to further refinement based on stakeholder feedback:

1. Offer a vision and authoritative framing of the environmental sustainability and digitalization nexus.
2. Establish an acceleration plan for digitalizing environmental sustainability of including immediate priorities and partnerships covering a 2-3 year perspective.
3. Help unite various environmental sustainability and digitalization tracks under a common framework and federation umbrella to improve coordination, coherence and impact.
4. Mobilize the scientific community and prioritize a research agenda.

Speakers include:

• Assistant Secretary-General Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Officer in Charge, Office of the Envoy on Technology, United Nations
• Dirk Messner, President, German Environment Agency
• Hon Mohamed Elmi, Chief Administrative Secretary, Kenya Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Eliane Ubalijoro, Robert Opp and Heide Hackmann to moderate different sessions of the event.

The CODES co-champions welcome all stakeholders to join this initiative and to collaborate in co-designing a digital planet for sustainability. To join the CODES mailing list, click here.