The following article, written by Morgan Martin, is part of a series of reflections on the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024. The series covers different aspects of the COP negotiations from Article 6 discussions and the Global Stocktake to commitments to technology advancements. All articles in the series were initially developed for Professor Achinthi Vithanage’s Advanced International Environmental Law course at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
On Saturday, November 16, 2024, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) Declaration On Green Digital Action (“Declaration”) was endorsed by over 1,000 leaders in technology and the environment, including governments, companies, international and regional organizations, and various stakeholders. Currently, 76 countries have endorsed the Declaration. The endorsement came during COP29 on a day focused on digital technologies, otherwise referred to as the first “Digitalisation Day.” Incorporating Digitalisation Day into the conference portrays global efforts to address technologies’ crucial role in mitigating climate change. Digitalisation Day largely builds on past efforts at COP28, namely the Green Digital Action series, to ensure collaborative efforts from the digital technology sector for climate action. Acknowledging technologies’ role in combating climate change is imperative to address technologies’ potential as well as the challenges technologies pose to the environment. Leveraging digital technologies to curtail carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, implement climate modeling, and optimize renewable energy systems ensures technologies are evolving and contributing to combating the climate crisis and enhancing sustainable practices. Thus, COP29’s endorsement of the Declaration by creating Digitalisation Day assists in unlocking the future of global “climate-positive digitalization”. Unfortunately, the Declaration is neither binding on States nor is it legally enforceable. Rather, it is an expression of a commitment to leverage technologies’ potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate their climate impact.
The Declaration recognizes digital technologies’ potential to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). The Declaration praises technologies’ ability to accelerate GHG emissions reduction and acknowledges the adverse climate impacts of technologies, such as lifecycle and energy and water consumption. The Declaration also emphasizes the importance of collaboration between stakeholders, including academia and technical communities. This collaboration is vital to encourage all stakeholders to participate in digital climate technology advancements. For instance, stakeholders, such as academia, serve an important role in testing and improving climate technologies. Moreover, the Declaration confirms the goal of enabling the exchange of best practices among countries for technologies that can reduce GHG emissions and increase adaptation and resilience. Overall, the Declaration calls for action to drive sustainable technologies and improve their accessibility for all, while mitigating their energy use.
While there are numerous opportunities for technology to empower sustainability, there are an array of environmental impacts that come with various technologies. To move forward, these drawbacks must be adequately addressed through international standards and guidelines. For instance, the Paris Agreement, which provides a framework for countries to set emissions reduction targets and implement climate mitigation strategies, can serve as an instrument to ensure technologies are not contributing further to GHG emissions and negative climate impacts. The Paris Agreement’s requirement for countries to submit nationally determined contributions may encourage countries to submit plans that ensure technologies are not hindering their climate goals. Technologies gobble up energy and require excessive water consumption. Additionally, e-waste generated from technologies must also be considered as technological advancements may drive production and thus produce excess waste. Specifically, as AI emerges so does the increase in GHG emissions and energy usage. Therefore, it is critical to distinguish technologies based on their ability to aid sustainability efforts from the degree of environmental impact they may have. However, there is ample room to mitigate the environmental impacts of technologies while also ensuring they thrive, and their sustainable benefits outweigh their impacts.
Encouraging innovation is key to promoting the continued advancement of sustainable technologies. By promoting technology accessibility to developing countries, including Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, the Declaration aims to ensure that no country is left behind in climate tech advancements. Specifically, the Declaration mentions fostering support and resources for start-ups and research institutions that are engaging in sustainable technology solutions. Climate tech startups are increasingly emerging. Thus, it is vital that these startups are supported and accessible to all countries to allow for all emerging sustainable technologies to be utilized and available to everyone. As more climate tech startups and companies emerge, the more room there is for international collaboration. Some examples of brilliant climate tech startups that have the potential to change the world include: Companies like these, if funded and globally integrated, have the potential to completely transform global sustainability.
International Climate Law may play a role here, particularly through the Paris Agreement. In Article 10, paragraph 4, of the Paris Agreement, a Technology Framework was established. The framework provides guidance to a Technology Mechanism, which aims to accelerate the development and transfer of technology through policy and project implementation. The Technology Mechanism consists of a Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the
Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN). Both of these bodies work together to achieve the objective of boosting technology development. Specifically, the CTCN grants access to knowledge of climate technologies, provides technical assistance to developing countries, and fosters collaboration between stakeholders. Thus, the Center can facilitate the implementation and awareness of varying climate tech startups in countries that may require these specific technologies. The CTCN can also assess developing countries’ technology needs through technology needs assessments, which developing countries utilize to identify and prioritize climate technologies needed for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The greater the awareness of climate technologies, the higher the chances that developing countries can prioritize and evaluate which existing technologies will strengthen their climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.
For the aforementioned considerations, the Declaration marks an incredible milestone for future climate action. Even though the Declaration is non-binding, it is a promising starting point for future international action on climate technologies. Declarations show countries’ political will to act on an issue. Thus, countries that endorse these Declarations may be inclined to develop and implement policies signifying their commitment to advancing and leveraging climate technologies to combat climate change. Moreover, the Declaration may encourage additional advancements and increased investments in climate technologies, while simultaneously increasing awareness. As technologies continue to evolve, ensuring that they have a role in mitigating the climate crisis will allow the world to take advantage of technologies’ various climate-forward benefits. If technology can be leveraged in a climate-positive way, then the link between digitalization and sustainability will thrive.