Page 20 - Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

Specifically, the report found that the distribution of 47% of the proportion of terrestrial flightless mammals
and 23% of threatened birds may have already been negatively impacted by climate change. Even for
global warming of 1.5 to 2°C, the majority of terrestrial species ranges are projected to shrink profoundly. 28
Rising food insecurity is another issue. Speaking at the launch of a Special Report on Climate Change
and Land by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Geneva, experts highlighted
how the rise in global temperatures, linked to increasing pressures on fertile soil, risked jeopardizing
food security for the planet. 29

All this evidence shows that catastrophic global climate change is not an event waiting to happen
sometime in the future. It is the reality that the entire world is facing right now. It is, therefore,
imperative that countries take urgent and immediate action to address climate change according
to the agreed-upon conventions, resolutions and protocols of international instruments such as the
ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement, the latter being the UN-coordinated response
of Member States to the issue of climate change. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen
the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century
well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase
even further to 1.5°C. Any interventions that may help achieve the Agreement’s aim should also be
utilised, including the use of ICT infrastructure and applications as part of countries’ climate change
response strategies.
Box 1 below summarises the intended outcomes of the Paris Agreement. 30

Box 1: The Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement

At the Conference of Parties (COP-21) in Paris, on 12 December 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC
reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the
actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. The Paris Agreement
builds upon the Convention and – for the first time – brings all nations into a common cause
to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with
enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so.
The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of
climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2°C above pre-
industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C
(Art. 2). Additionally, the agreement aims to increase the ability of countries to deal with the
impacts of climate change, and make finance flows consistent with a low- GHG emissions
and climate-resilient pathway. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate mobilisation,
the provision of financial resources, a new technology framework and enhanced capacity-
building will be put in place, thus supporting action by developing countries, and the most
vulnerable countries, in line with their own national objectives. The Agreement also provides
for an enhanced transparency framework for action and support.
The Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through ‘nationally
determined contributions’ (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead.
This includes requirements that all Parties report regularly on their emissions and their

28 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). ‘IPBES: Climate Change Is a Key Driver for
Species Extinction.’ United Nations - Climate Change, 6 May 2019, unfccc .int/ news/ ipbes -climate -change -is -a -key
-driver -for -species -extinction.
29 United Nations (UN). ‘World Food Security Increasingly at Risk Due to 'Unprecedented' Climate Change Impact, New
UN Report Warns.’ UN News, 8 Aug. 2019, news .un .org/ en/ story/ 2019/ 08/ 1043921.
30 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). ‘What Is the Paris Agreement?’ unfccc .int/
process -and -meetings/ the -paris -agreement/ what -is -the -paris -agreement.

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