Five ways tech is supporting climate and sustainability

Article originally published on the STAY Blog as a guest post by Michael Fasciano.

We live in a world that is at a cross-roads when it comes to climate, sustainability, tech, culture and politics.  We’re starting to reckon with undeniable evidence that climate change is here and is changing our experience in the world.  Leaders, communities and businesses are starting to put real investment behind causes that might deliver true breakthroughs in technology, business, politics and policy.  And we have to look no further than the recent Super Bowl ads like GM and Netflix “giving EVs a bigger stage” to see cultural tipping points may be on the horizon. 

As a self-described “climate conscious, sustainability curious person,” I’ve spent many years following the news and wondering where all of this is going.  I spent the last decade at global companies, such as IBM and Goldman Sachs bringing to market key sustainability initiatives.  These professional experiences engaged me in ways that evoked a sense of growth and pride.  And they convinced me that major businesses really are in the game, giving me some hope.

I’ve recently committed myself to becoming more informed and involved in climate by completing the Terra.Do 12-week sustainability fellowship.  It’s been a great curriculum and community – and one which I’ve found to reinforce the STAY perspective—that technology can help address climate and accelerate the cause of sustainability. 

Here are five ways in which I’m seeing tech and sustainability finding common cause:

• Climate modeling offers a much clearer sense of what needs to happen to prevent the worst type of outcomes. 

• Better attribution around extreme weather can identify which extreme events are most likely caused by climate change. 

• More interactive data models to understand all the levers that can be pulled to contain warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. 

• Energy startups are starting to take off.  As the world aims to “electrify everything,” we need innovation on multiple fronts.

• Innovative initiatives in the private sector are testing many technology solutions to accelerate advancement and adoption quickly, safely and equitably. 

Below, I dive into the details of how these five themes in technology and sustainability are finding common cause.

Climate modeling offers a much clearer sense of what needs to happen to prevent the worst type of outcomes.  In short, the global community is focused on containing climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius, on average globally.  In this roadmap to 1.5 degrees by the World Resources Institute, the good news is that many factors are moving in the right direction—the concerning news is that most factors are not on track.  Explore here.

Here is a simple visualization of the contrast between 1.5 and 2 degrees warming:

Better attribution around extreme weather.  For many years we have all seen uncharacteristic weather patterns everywhere.  People can choose to pay attention or not.  However, extreme weather is a different issue because real damage and costs can be inflicted.  That’s when people from all backgrounds start to pay attention.  And of course, the debate emerges around whether extreme weather is actually caused by climate change.  Scientists for the last few decades have been able to attribute general challenges such as heat waves—but now there is a much more precise ability to attribute the extreme events that cause damage.  Whether this precise science can quell debate and bring more unified focus to the challenges ahead remains to be seen.  Explore here.

More interactive data models to understand all the levers that can be pulled to contain warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius by 2100.  Research shows that research alone doesn’t win hearts and minds for climate and sustainability engagement.  Interactive models are helping to deepen engagement with the sustainability curious.  Whether it’s carbon taxes, energy efficiency breakthroughs, taxes on coal, subsidies for building efficiency, re-forestation, and so on—there’s many things we can and should do with the right amount of political will—but just how much of an impact will any combination of these levers have?  The EN-ROADS climate Interactive planning model, produced in partnership with MIT, helps communities understand the interconnectedness of different global warming containment methods.  Interestingly, this model sees carbon capture technology as having significant potential in helping contain warming.  Explore here.

Energy startups are starting to take off.  As the world aims to “electrify everything,” we need innovations on multiple fronts, ranging from clean energy creation, to efficient transmission, long term storage, electric vehicles, charging networks, smart grids, smart homes, and much more.  The good news is that since the Paris Climate Agreement, significant VC investment has gone into the climate tech space.  Leading companies such as Bloom Energy, Zenobe and Eos are leading with significant innovation in everything from power generation to storage – and funding is supporting that innovation.  Explore many of the top energy startups that are starting to take off, here. 

Innovative initiatives in the private sector are testing many technology solutions to accelerate advancement and adoption quickly, safely and equitably.  Drawdown Labs, the private sector portion of Project Drawdown is engaging employees at companies, setting standards for corporate leadership, and helping shift financial capital to scale progress and impact.  Initiatives such as Project Drawdown highlight the power of public-private partnership in efforts to create real change, that is informed, connected to global community, and fueled by free enterprise.  Explore here.

These observations are just scratching the surface of all the tech activity that is ramping up around climate and sustainability.  While we need more progress, faster, it’s encouraging to see that meaningful advancements across tech innovation, business, and culture are building momentum.  When we all see that with great challenges come great opportunity for innovation, business, jobs and purpose, real tipping points will come about, which will be exciting to track, support, and adopt in our own lives.