Adding the digital dimension to global environmental goals

Autumn is busy for environmental negotiators as the United Nations Climate and Biodiversity conference of the parties or UN-COPs, encourage policymakers to define targets for national and global sustainability goals. A lesser known, but no less important gathering took place in September 2024, at the UN Summit of the Future. The Summit was called to strengthen international cooperation for global goals in the lead-up to the COPs in October and November. 

At the Summit, nearly 200 member states adopted a Pact for the Future committing to action across five themes: 1. Sustainable Development and Financing, 2. International Peace and Security, 3. Science, Technology and Innovation and Digital Cooperation, 4. Youth and Future Generations and 5. Transforming Global Governance. 

The Global Digital Compact – a first

The Pact also included a Global Digital Compact, the first ever international agreement for an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe and secure digital future. In adopting the Compact, member states agree and recognize the new challenge of digitalization and their role in managing the risks of the digital age in order to achieve an “inclusive, responsible and sustainable digital future.”

Canada was among the Member States that signed on to the Global Digital Compact to pursue five key objectives: closing the digital divide and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals; expanding an inclusive digital economy; fostering an inclusive and safe digital space that protects human rights; advancing interoperable data governance systems; and promoting AI governance to benefit all of humanity. 

But there is a long way to go from commitments to action, and coordinated efforts are needed to truly operationalize and institutionalize the multi-stakeholder vision of the Global Digital Compact.

Building capacity in Canada

Sustainability in the Digital Age and Future Earth Canada (author affiliations) are two organizations operating in Canada to advise policy and build awareness around the sustainable use of AI and other emerging technologies at national and global level. For example, in line with the Compact’s goals to “promote sustainability across the life cycle of digital technologies,” and to “ensure that digital infrastructure and equipment are sustainably designed to address environmental challenges,” we disseminate knowledge on how to address the direct and indirect impacts of AI on the Environment (resource here and toolbox here), and we conduct applied research exploring digital tools for nature based solutions. Our team is also leading work around education through the Leadership in Environmental and Digital innovation for Sustainability (LEADS) graduate training program and our working group the Global Alliance for Digital Education and Sustainability (GADES) program, which was launched at the Summit of the Future. .

From our expert experience as part of an international initiative, the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES), we have gathered some insights on how to best collaborate with the policy sector, private sector, academia and civil society in implementing the Compact and advancing a common vision of digital sustainability. Key suggestions below can help ensure that design and development of sustainable digital solutions focuses on tackling present environmental and social crises. 

Guidance on how to operationalize multistakeholder digital cooperation 

• Governments and funders can incentivize (for example through tax concessions, subsidies, reduction of risk and costs) the design and development of sustainable digital solutions that focus on tackling environmental and social crises and meeting the SDGs. For example, ensuring future funding opportunities such as the  Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy and AI Compute Access Fund incorporates sustainability as a selection criteria. 
• Funders and researchers must prioritize research that further identifies and quantifies the direct and indirect environmental and social impacts of digital technologies. In particular, potential impacts on human health, land and coastal ecosystems, energy and water demand, food systems, species biodiversity, global warming, inequality and poverty, education, and climate change mitigation and adaptation – including regional variances, must be explored. In Canada this could mean incorporating environmental and social sustainability as priorities for example in the Research Pillar of the Canadian Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy as well as introducing these topics to the Canadian Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (Luccioni et al, 2024).
• Scientific evidence, Indigenous knowledge systems, and other recognized forms of knowledge must inform the development of consistent standards for the environmentally and socially responsible use of digital tools. Standards should adopt the precautionary principle in the absence of such evidence and aim to cover the sustainable and ethical design, production, procurement, adoption, and use of digital technologies. Multiplying and uplifting Canadian digital technology initiatives that embrace multi-and transdisciplinarity and convene diverse knowledge systems is one avenue. For example the Abundant Intelligences research program uses Indigenous Knowledge systems to design and conceptualize AI. Furthermore, The Standards Council of Canada, the national standard setting body, can expand its AI coverage to help contribute to standards for environmentally sustainable AI and other digital infrastructures. 
• Governments and educational institutions can raise public awareness and literacy around the environmental and social risks and benefits of AI and other emerging technologies. For example, AI literacy courses for civil servants could incorporate elements of environmental and social sustainability in order to build a more informed workforce and more holistic AI literacy and education programs within Canada. 

Canada’s continued leadership in AI depends on digital cooperation for the environment

Canada has shown much leadership on the world stage in the AI and digital domain, with billion dollar investments into research, being the first country with a funded national AI strategy, becoming a founding partner of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence and an active member of Digital Nations, among others. If Canada wants to continue to be an AI and digital leader on the world stage, we must also incorporate and champion environmental sustainability of digital technologies and infrastructure and implement the Global Digital Compact with action.