Page 17 - Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

increase (relative to the current development scenario) – in Europe alone. Therefore, advocating for
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responsible consumer behaviour when it comes to the purchase of ICTs, in addition to advocating Chapter 1
for CEs, may help curb the overall increase in energy used during the material extraction, material
processing, and component manufacturing within ICT production.

Furthermore, as it is an important aspect in the discussion around climate change, this report also
covers some of the social impacts of climate change and their ICT-based responses, in addition to
those focusing on reduction of greenhouse gases and carbon footprint-related impacts.

Section 1.1 summarizes the various global impacts of climate change and underscores the severity
and urgency of the issue.

1.1 Climate change: Trends and impacts

Several causes of climate change exist and are leading
to warming of the planet as a result of the release of
greenhouse gases (GHGs) – primarily in the form of carbon-
based emissions that contribute to the greenhouse effect
by retaining more heat from the sun. The average global
temperatures increased by 0.85°C between 1880 to 2012,
which had an inverse effect on crop yields in the two decades
following 1980 alone. 7

In light of this, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) recently issued its starkest warning yet on the consequences of climate inaction and the
importance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. It has confirmed that the Earth is now (on average)
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already 1°C above pre-industrial levels. The year 2018 has been reported to be the fourth warmest
year on record, almost 1°C above temperature levels in the period 1850–1900, as mentioned above.
And 2019 is on trend to surpass every year in recorded history.
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The following graph from NASA (Figure 3) shows the increase in atmospheric carbon over time. The
current warming trend that corresponds to this increase is particularly important, as it is ‘proceeding
at a rate that is unprecedented over decades to millennia.’ 10
These mounting temperatures have given way to more frequent and severe weather-related
phenomena such as heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tropical cyclones and heavy
rain and snowfalls. It has been reported that in 2016 alone, the world suffered 772 geophysical,
meteorological, hydrological and climatological natural loss events – triple the number suffered in 1980.
Already vulnerable and poor population groups are likely to be the most affected by such events.
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6 McKinsey & Company. ‘Europe's Circular-Economy Opportunity.’ Sep. 2015, www .mckinsey .com/ business -functions/
sustainability/ our -insights/ europes -circular -economy -opportunity.
7 United Nations (UN). ‘Climate Change.’ www .un .org/ en/ sections/ issues -depth/ climate -change/ .
8 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). ‘IPCC SPECIAL REPORT: Global Warming of 1.5 ºC.’ 2018, www .ipcc
.ch/ sr15/ .
9 McGrath, Matt. ‘Climate Change: Global Impacts “Accelerating” - WMO.’ BBC News Services, 28 Mar. 2019, www .bbc
.com/ news/ science -environment -47723577.
10 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ‘Evidence.” climate .nasa .gov/ evidence/ .
11 Paris, Guillaume, and Pierre- Henri Blard. ‘Humans Have Derailed the Earth's Climate in Just 160 Years. Here's How.’
World Economic Forum (WEF), 27 Mar. 2019, www .weforum .org/ agenda/ 2019/ 03/ how -humans -derailed -the -earths
-climate -in -just -160 -years/ .

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