Page 18 - Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

Figure 3: Increase in atmospheric carbon with time 12

Adding to the aforementioned concerns is the fact that while momentum to view the environmental
and climate challenges as part of the overall global economic architecture had gained ground after
the 2008–2009 global financial crisis – as seen in the formulation of the Paris Agreement (detailed
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in Box 1) – a decade later, still not enough has been done economically or politically to shift the
balance toward sustainability, even though the deteriorating environmental conditions increasingly
threaten humanity itself. In a strange paradox, despite worsening climate conditions the political
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will to fight climate change appears to be fading, according to Mr Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-
General in early 2019.
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This is seen in the fact that despite having made promises to make their operations more sustainable,
the world’s biggest companies have continued to rely on fossil fuels. Research shows that the
carbon footprint of the global tech giants is growing particularly fast. This is partly explained by
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the exponential growth of data centres worldwide. While investment is being made to ensure that
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the manufacturing and operations of these new data centres will be as environmentally sustainable
as possible (e.g. through water efficiency measures, the use of renewable energy and sustainability
certifications), it is still unclear what impacts the continued operation, or dismantling, of the old data
centres will have on the environment and climate. The fact remains that data centres are consuming
vast amounts of electricity and are leaving significant environmental footprints. Unless these data
centres begin to move towards utilizing renewable energy sources in their operations, they will remain
responsible for a significant portion of global emissions.

The ramifications of climate change are, moreover, likely to be exacerbated by the growing pressure
of urbanisation. Today, more than 4 billion people (over half the global population) live in cities and

12 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ‘Graphic: The Relentless Rise of Carbon Dioxide.’ 12 Jun. 2019,
climate .nasa .gov/ climate _resources/ 24/ graphic -the -relentless -rise -of -carbon -dioxide/ .
13 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). ‘Top Economists Outline Plan for a Global Green
New Deal.’ 12 Apr. 2019, unctad .org/ en/ pages/ newsdetails .aspx ?OriginalVersionID = 2057 & utm _source = CIO %2B -
%2BGeneral %2Bpublic & utm _campaign = cbf2294e3c -UNCTAD %2BCSO %2BNewsletter %2B16 %2BNovember _COPY _01
& utm _medium = email & utm _term = 0 _3d334fa428 -cbf2294e3c -70437777.
14 Pascus, Brian. ‘Human Civilization Faces ‘Existential Risk’ by 2050 According to New Australian Climate Change Report.’
CBS News, CBS Interactive Inc., 4 June 2019, www .cbsnews .com/ news/ new -climate -change -report -human -civilization
-at -risk -extinction -by -2050 -new -australian -climate/ .
15 BBC. ‘Political Will to Fight Climate Change Is Fading, Warns UN Chief.’ BBC News, BBC News Services, 12 May 2019,
www .bbc .com/ news/ av/ world -asia -48244315/ political -will -to -fight -climate -change -is -fading -warns -un -chief.
16 Merchant, Brian. Amazon Is Aggressively Pursuing Big Oil as It Stalls Out on Clean Energy. Gizmodo, 8 Apr. 2019,
gizmodo .com/ amazon -is -aggressively -pursuing -big -oil -as -it -stalls -ou -1833875828 ?utm _source = gizmodo _newsletter &
utm _medium = email & utm _campaign = 2019 -04 -19.
17 Mills, Theadora. ‘Enlisting Technologies in the Fight against Climate Change.” ITU News, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), 18 Dec. 2018, www .news .itu .int/ technologies -fight -against -climate -change/ .

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