The information revolution is helping the world fight climate change
Cities are front line as the culprits, victims and problem solvers of climate change. Urban development, transport and energy use alone account for about 40% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, millions of townspeople are dying According to a 2010 study, pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal, petrol and diesel, occurs every year. Environmental research. However, cities are also centers of innovation and key players development of solutions to mitigate and adapt to the world’s rapidly changing climate. More and more of them are already fighting the biggest challenge of our era by leveraging one of its most powerful new resources: Big Data.
It is not entirely surprising that cities are committed to climate change. After all, they have the most to lose. But while a handful of high- and middle-income cities are diligently planning and preparing for climate shocks and stresses, most have not yet begun. Wealthy cities such as Amsterdam; Helsinki; Melbourne, Australia; Oslo, Norway; Paris, Singapore and New York are actively exploring how their infrastructure can withstand climate change, developing nature-based solutions and accelerating the green transition. Yet less than half of the world’s cities have inventoried their exposure and even fewer have developed a climate resilience strategy. There are green shoots of hope: C40 coalition climate-oriented cities have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and some cities are moving even faster. Meanwhile, World Association of Mayors for Climate and Energy, a coalition of more than 10,000 cities, is stimulating investment in a green and equitable economic recovery.
However, these goals – as well as the corresponding goals set by nation states and companies through the Paris Agreement – remain non-transparent. Critics are skeptical the “net-zero” goals, which are decades away and which place a burden on future generations to make the most of innovation and adaptation. Such a delay reduces awareness of which political, technical, or other strategies are working and will work. But the world does not have time for long processes of trial and error, and national and city governments, businesses and citizens cannot afford satisfaction. They need to act quickly and adapt agilely, especially when they realize that a particular policy is working better or worse than expected.
Cities are front line as the culprits, victims and problem solvers of climate change. Urban development, transport and energy use alone account for about 40% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, millions of townspeople are dying According to a 2010 study, pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal, petrol and diesel, occurs every year. Environmental research. However, cities are also centers of innovation and key players development of solutions to mitigate and adapt to the world’s rapidly changing climate. More and more of them are already fighting the biggest challenge of our era by leveraging one of its most powerful new resources: Big Data.
It is not entirely surprising that cities are committed to climate change. After all, they have the most to lose. But while a handful of high- and middle-income cities are diligently planning and preparing for climate shocks and stresses, most have not yet begun. Wealthy cities such as Amsterdam; Helsinki; Melbourne, Australia; Oslo, Norway; Paris, Singapore and New York are actively exploring how their infrastructure can withstand climate change, developing nature-based solutions and accelerating the green transition. Yet less than half of the world’s cities have inventoried their exposure and even fewer have developed a climate resilience strategy. There are green shoots of hope: C40 coalition climate-oriented cities have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and some cities are moving even faster. Meanwhile, World Association of Mayors for Climate and Energy, a coalition of more than 10,000 cities, is stimulating investment in a green and equitable economic recovery.
However, these goals – as well as the corresponding goals set by nation states and companies through the Paris Agreement – remain non-transparent. Critics are skeptical the “net-zero” goals, which are decades away and which place a burden on future generations to make the most of innovation and adaptation. Such a delay reduces awareness of which political, technical, or other strategies are working and will work. But the world does not have time for long processes of trial and error, and national and city governments, businesses and citizens cannot afford satisfaction. They need to act quickly and adapt agilely, especially when they realize that a particular policy is working better or worse than expected.
The rapidly growing amount and diversity of Big Data collected in cities – whose potential has hardly been exploited – can help address the urgent need for practical insight. Firstly, it can be used to monitor the climate crisis as it occurs. Data collected in real time and in high resolution can act as an interface between aspiring goals and day-to-day implementation. Take, for example, mobility, which is a key factor in carbon, nitrogen and particulate emissions. Data from fixed sensors, outdoor video material, navigation devices and mobile phones could be processed in real time for the classification of all modes of urban transport. This can be used to create accurate information about which vehicles – from gas-powered SUVs to electric bikes – affect traffic and emissions over a given hour, day, week or month. Such just-in-time analytics can provide information on agile policy change: Data on too many kilometers driven by used diesel vehicles may indicate the need for targeted car repurchase programs, while better data on bike use may strengthen the criteria for own lanes and preference. brake lights.
Data-based analytics already improves energy efficiency in buildings where heating, cooling and electricity use are the main culprits of greenhouse gas emissions. It is now possible to monitor regional and temporal electricity consumption patterns in commercial and residential properties with smart meters. They allow city authorities to monitor which buildings use the most electricity and when. Such data can then be used to set incentives to reduce consumption and optimize energy distribution over a 24-hour period. Electricity companies can charge higher prices during peak hours, which puts the most CO2-intensive burden on the grid. While top pricing strategies have been around for decades, the abundance of information and advanced computing can now help companies reach their full potential. Similarly, thermal cameras on the streets can detect buildings with energy leaks, especially during colder times. Tenants can use this information to replace windows or increase insulation, significantly reducing their electricity bills while promoting local climate action.
Some cities are taking advantage of the data revolution to accelerate energy transition. A good example of this is The hot heart of Helsinki a proposal that recently overcame a city-wide energy challenge (and involving one of our companies – Carlo Ratti Associati -). Helsinki currently relies on a district heating system operating on coal-fired power plants, which is expected to be decommissioned by 2030. The key question is whether it is possible for the city to obtain electricity from intermittent renewable energy sources. The project proposes giant water basins floating on the shores of the Baltic Sea, which will act as insulated radiators to collect heat during peak renewable energy production and release it through a district heating system. This is only possible with finely tuned sensors, algorithms and actuators. Relying on the flow of water and syllables, Helsinki Hot Hearth would provide a path to digital physical systems that could lead cities like Helsinki to a sustainable, data-driven future.
The good news is that advanced cloud computing and machine learning power are increasingly available to cities, businesses, universities and citizens. The dramatic growth of satellite and remote sensing platforms, as well as the cost of data analytics, means there are fewer barriers to entry. The availability of openly available APIs is also increasing rapidly, with information on all pollution and mobility to water and waste. And as more and more institutional investors and other shareholders demand climate commitments, we can expect the use of data technologies to reduce emissions to grow steadily.
An important way to make data work for cities and their residents is to actively share it with citizens, many of whom can drive decentralized climate action feedback loops. The sooner awareness of the potential to optimize climate action and reduce energy dissipation, the faster waste can trigger grassroots pressures for systemic change. Citizens can and will learn if they are properly informed – a great “if” in our present moment false information and disinformation media where politicians and businesses succeed and fail to keep their promises. Open data portals can also help residents ’efforts to be more climate-aware; the environmental impact of consumer decisions no longer needs to be invisible.
Of course, the data revolution has limitations in all areas, and climate action is no exception. The concern of many cities is to ensure that information policies take into account variations in climate impacts in neighborhoods and population groups. Data protection must be carefully managed. The issue of equality or climate justice is even more critical. While cities such as Copenhagen or Seattle can do very well in terms of overall environmental indicators – reducing overall pollution and expanding green spaces – these proportions may not reach the neighborhoods of the poorest or marginalized groups that are least tolerant. Data analysis is never immune to the human factor: Without conscious effort, it repeats implicit prejudices. The groups like Data-based EnviroLab examine these critical issues; Numbers alone cannot provide truth, let alone justice.
However, the data revolution is one of our most effective tools for resolving the climate crisis. The problem is so bad that seeing it around its shadow requires billions of digital and organic eyes. As storytelling animals, we can use Big Data to understand and communicate the scale and scope of the planet’s crisis while measuring progress toward carbon neutrality (or negativity). From city to city, language data visualization-edited in different languages and cultures – can also provide a global sense of the narrative into which we have all immersed ourselves, illuminating our failures and victories. The data is indeed, as many media outlets have written, “new oil.” When collected, processed and processed, it can foster innovation. The only difference is that this new energy source can drive a sustainable outcome.