Digitalisation powering environmental protection

Event recording

Event description

The European Union Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN in Geneva (currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU), and the Geneva Internet Platform, in partnership with the International Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) invite you to a series of dialogues – From Geneva: Reflections on digital future – on issues of importance for the Geneva and global audiences. Our next dialogue, on 14 October 2021, is on Digitalisation powering environmental protection.

The digital revolution is changing the way we work, live, and solve challenges. New technologies offer ground-breaking opportunities for environmental protection and climate action. For example, AI can strengthen climate predictions, enable smarter decision-making for decarbonising industries, and anticipate the effects of extreme weather.

As we strive for digital economies that will put people at the heart, foster international development, and protect human rights and freedoms, we also need a better understanding of the environmental footprint of our economic development, including ICT’s growing carbon footprint.

The UN Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation warns that operations related to ICT are expected to represent up to 20% of the world’s demand for electricity. One third stems from data centres alone.

In our dialogue, we will therefore ask, how can we truly benefit from the technology’s environmental solutions and use the digital revolution to advance environmental stewardship? How can we appropriately harness digital opportunities while limiting adverse effects of digitalisation on the environment? How can we build strong partnerships among regions to support digital transition that powers environmental protection across the globe?

Join us on Thursday, October 14th at 14:00 UTC (10:00 EDT | 16:00 CEST | 22:00 CST)

Speakers:

  • Ilias Iakovidis, Advisor, Green digital transformation, DG CONNECT, European Commission
  • David Jensen, Coordinator of the Digital Transformation Task Force at the United Nations Environment Programme
  • Mitja Jermol, Program Committee Chair in AI and Circular Economy, International Research Centre for AI
  • Reyna Ubeda, Project Officer, International Telecomunication Union
  • Flurina Wäspi, Independent Consultant to the IGF Policy Network on Environment and Digitalisation 2021

Moderator:

  • Tereza Horejsova, Projects and Partnerships Director, Diplo

Other events in the series: