COP28: Unlocking the potential of AI

Artificial intelligence can become a powerful tool to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting the increase in global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, for which it is essential to immediately reduce emissions, fast and deep in all productive sectors.  Thanks to the special ability of AI to collect, complete and interpret large and complex data sets on emissions, climate impact, etc., this technology can be used to help all stakeholders adopt a more informed and data-driven approach to reduce carbon emissions and build a greener society, and can also be used to help realign global climate efforts towards higher-risk regions.

AI-driven initiatives target high-risk areas and feed into local and national response plans.  According to UN delegates: “AI strategic climate action projects can help countries to mitigate disasters.  and ensure the safety of residents in vulnerable communities. Using ML and big data you can know in advance when a monzon is coming.”

Google

Most people who use Google Maps just want to get from Point A to Point B — as quickly and painlessly as possible. Whether it’s planning a weekend bike route, finding the quickest roads during rush hour, or identifying bus paths with the fewest transfers, people are making the most out of Maps features to travel faster and greener. 

“The use of big data and AI help us by making key decisions. By clicking on the green leaf symbol in Google Maps, drivers can take the most efficient road. In the background we use AI to optimize different variables and provide a simple decision-making for the driver,” said Kate Brandt, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer

“On the other hand, we have to be extremely responsible, about AI models and data centers, we see in Google that is working; AI is at an inflation point today, but in 2030 is difficult to predict the climate change. That’s why we have been optimizing our data centers and today they are more efficient compared to some years ago,” added.

Huawei

According to ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, AI has the potential to help mitigate between 5 to 10%of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and that increasingly people are discovering “how technologies can unlock solutions and put us on a greener, more sustainable path”.

Huawei teamed up with multiple UN agencies during COP28 to find collective responses to climate change and unlock the potential of AI and take green digital solutions.

Huawei noted that more than 90% of a telecom operator’s carbon footprint for operations comes from the electricity used to power networks. “This means we need to act fast to reconcile between fast-growing demand for data with expectations for green networks,” Jerry Guo, President of Huawei’s Global Technical Services R&Dsaid. 

“Increasing the efficiency and quality, reducing energy consumption and cost of communications networks – that’s the responsibility of tech companies like Huawei, and a major part of how we can contribute to human development,” he added.