At the first UN Climate Change Conference in 1995, digital technology was not part of the agenda. At the time, the Internet and the World Wide Web were used by less than 1% of the world’s population and the digital industry’s environmental impact was hardly considered.
Today, everything has changed. Collectively, 166 leading tech companies generated nearly 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2022—a total that would place them in the league of the top 25 emitting countries. And 10 of those leading companies accounted for almost 1% of global electricity consumption.
Tech is no longer an outsider in debates about climate change. As digital technology relentlessly redefines our lives, we are at a crucial crossroads: will we allow digital growth to deepen the environmental decline—or will we harness its power to build a sustainable future?
COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a watershed moment for the tech industry. For the first time, the meeting’s presidency has dedicated a day to address the far-reaching impacts of digitalization and has prompted the entire tech community to take clear action. Every government, every tech company, and every civil society organization that has an interest in our digital future is invited to endorse the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action, marking their commitment to advancing digital climate solutions and minimizing their resource consumption. Undoubtedly, one declaration will not be enough to put the entire global tech sector on track. Critics may even argue that chasing after digital solutions detracts from traditional environmental conservation or authentic climate action.
The declaration is not a mere statement of intent. It will stand as a pledge to reduce the environmental footprint of going digital, enhance data-driven decision-making, and strengthen vital digital communications infrastructure against the impacts of climate change. The truth is that we need every solution available. The tech industry’s capacity for rapid innovation and global reach makes it an indispensable ally in the fight against climate change.
As the UN agency for digital technologies, ITU has over 1,000 sector members, including key industry players, leading cloud providers, and companies building large-language models. We must leverage these existing relationships to strengthen climate action. This collaboration is more than necessary—it’s critical to addressing the urgent challenges we face.
This is why Green Digital Action—a coalition of some 50 industry players, governments, civil society, and UN agencies established at last year’s climate conference—calls on the tech industry to take responsibility for its impact and act now.
It is clear that the skyrocketing growth of AI and cloud computing is putting pressure on the energy supply required to feed this boom and will derail tech companies’ net-zero roadmaps if not addressed. Greenhouse gas emissions from some of the largest tech companies have already risen by about 50% in five years, while their electricity consumption has more than doubled. Digital data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and hyperscale computing consume vast amounts of water while one-third of people in the world live in water-stressed countries. Simultaneously, about the same number of people remain unconnected, deprived of information, education, job opportunities, and the ability to participate in the modern digital economy. Bringing everyone online is crucial to address growing inequalities. Yet it will further add to energy consumption, emissions, and pressure on natural resources.
Keeping global warming within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels—a tipping point for catastrophic climate change—requires deep, rapid reductions by countries, industries, communities, and individual consumers. Global emissions need to be cut by almost half by 2030.
We’re out of time. Fires, floods, and hurricanes attest to the onset of a major, largely human-made, climate upheaval. No one is out of reach as recent catastrophes have demonstrated.
Tech is vital in tackling these climate challenges and providing sustainable, cost-effective solutions. We know digital solutions can enhance energy efficiency, reduce electronic waste, and significantly lower carbon footprints across various sectors. Satellites, AI, mobile networks, and submarine cables are also key to climate monitoring, weather forecasts, early warning systems, and disaster response.
Rather than retreating from the digital future, we need to reimagine it. This means systematically monitoring, reporting, and tracking all tech-related emissions through a public database, and pledging concrete reductions based on science-based targets. It also means strengthening support for climate adaptation by rolling out emergency early warning systems to protect vulnerable communities, sharing open data solutions, and helping set technical standards for a low-carbon or, ideally, no-carbon future.
We call on all those who take part in designing, developing, and determining our digital future to join us in this collective pursuit by signing the declaration. The technology industry must do its share—and do so immediately.
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