Great Doubt and Shared Hope: UN Climate Conference COP28

Flying Start and a Small Setback

The meeting began promisingly as participants reached an agreement on a Climate Loss and Damage Fund for poor countries. Although the fund wouldn't save the world, its symbolic value at the beginning of the conference was significant. However, the conference's outcome did not promise additional funding for these countries to abandon fossil fuels.

The conference reiterated the need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030 (compared to the 2019 level) to keep the global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Currently, we are not on track to achieve that goal.

A significant portion of the participants wanted the conference resolution to include a commitment to completely “phase out” fossil fuels. Oil-producing countries watered this down, and the resolution ended up stating a “transition away” from them. While the resolution emphasizes the need for quick and efficient actions, the shared government-signed commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels is the first of its kind in the world, making it historic.

COP28 from the Perspective of Digital Development

Maintaining the crucial 1.5-degree limit for global temperature rise requires practical solutions from everyone. Digital technologies and services can support comprehensive and efficient solutions. Even before the conference, ITU's Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin stated that we must build a future where digital technologies and the fight against climate change go hand in hand; it is essential.

In Dubai, 40 technology organizations, under the leadership of ITU, created a document related to digital development:

The document states, for example, that digital technologies can significantly help in the battle against the climate crisis, but they can also be a significant part of the problem. The core goal is to identify and promote widely recognized and accepted green practices in digital technologies. The document specifically lists four major challenges: in addition to measuring energy usage standards for devices, it is necessary to standardize software energy consumption, energy proportionality, software carbon efficiency, and green metrics. The document's annex is breathtaking but an interesting list from 2004 to 2023.

Moving Forward from Here?

The crucial point is how quickly and seriously actions against climate change are implemented and how we learn to do things differently than before.

Agreements are of course important, but Greta Thunberg expressed the essence of the matter very aptly several years ago: "The people in power don’t need conferences, treaties, or agreements to start taking real climate action. They can start today. When enough people come together, then change will come, and we can achieve almost anything. So instead of looking for hope - start creating it."