First ever Digitalisation Day, and Declaration on Green Digital Action to make history at COP – marking digital tech’s efforts to lower emissions and counter climate change
By Sonia Meetes, Special Correspondent, Switzerland
The upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) will feature a series of firsts to rally the technology industry to take on the climate emergency.
Introduced by the COP Presidency, the first-ever Digitalisation Day at COP (November 16, 2024) will spotlight the role of digital technologies in advancing climate resilience through a High-Level Roundtable and related events.
Industry leaders, governments, and civil society organizations will also be invited to sign the “COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action”, affirming the vital role of digital technologies in climate action and outlining a collaborative framework for advancing sustainability. The Declaration will be formally adopted during Digitalisation Day.
Throughout COP29, Green Digital Action will review progress on existing tech-industry sustainability pledges and showcase innovative, scalable digital solutions to evolving climate challenges.
The Green Digital Action initiative, led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the UN Agency for Digital Technologies – alongside governments, businesses and civil society organizations, aims to accelerate climate-positive digitalisation and emission reductions in the tech sector.
Other sessions highlighting the link between digital technologies and climate action include:
Intergenerational dialogue: Youth Vision for a Green Digital Future (12 November)
High-Level Opening: Strengthening Collaborative Power for a Sustainable Digital Tech Industry (14 November)
Sustainability by Design in World Standards Cooperation (15 November)
AI and the UN Early Warnings for All Initiative (16 November)
Advancing Green Digital Action Towards a Net-Zero ICT Sector (16 November)
Climate Action: Transition plans to reduce the ICT Sector’s own GHG Emissions (16 November)
Success and Gaps in Green AI (16 November).
Green Digital Action was established at COP28 in Dubai in 2023. Since then, the initiative has been working to unite the global digital community in developing practical solutions, boosting industry-wide climate support, and strengthening global frameworks for monitoring and reporting.
