IBM, associate partner of COP 28
IBM recently announced its participation as Associate Partner of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Organized by the United Arab Emirates Presidency in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December, COP 28 is presented as a decisive moment in the fight against climate change. The partnership with the American company wants to be sustainable. Decryption.
By Houmi Ahamed-Mikidache
‘IBM will show during the conference how technology and consulting can enable businesses, society and governments to move faster towards the Sustainable Development Goals’said the US company in a statement received this week by Era Environnement.
“Technology and partnerships will be essential for the future”
IBM says it can advance clean energy transitions, including data consolidation and artificial intelligence integration. The American company specializing in new technologies says it is ready to help organizations measure their environmental impact, meet regulatory requirements, public expectations, and foster business creation through more efficient and sustainable data.
“Sustainable development is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and technology and partnerships will be key to moving things forward,” said Jonathan Adashek, Senior Vice President, IBM Marketing and Communications at the announcement of the partnership.
IBM will present its innovations in Artificial Intelligence such as Watsonx. “In Dubai, IBM will work with the UAE Presidency for COP28 and other participants to continue co-creating solutions that will lead us all towards a low-carbon future”, explains the IBM Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
What does the COP 28 presidency think?
In the statement written by IBM, received by Era Environnement, the COP 28 Presidency expresses its satisfaction with this partnership. I am pleased with the enthusiasm shown by our sponsors who are committed to uniting, acting and keeping their promises so that the 1.5°C threshold remains within reach”, said Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, Director-General and Special Representative of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).
The location of this year’s UN Climate Change Conference is also a backdrop for IBM in the Middle East where its sustainability offerings help companies and governments improve their performance and achieve their sustainability goals. For example, IBM and Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) are collaborating on a joint AI Center of Excellence to improve the adoption of AI technology, promote the deployment of clean and renewable energy and contribute to sustainable development with carbon-neutral solutions. This could, in particular, fill gaps. According to a report by REN21, published on 13 June, the deployment of renewable energies in Africa and the Middle East is quite low.
The outlook
IBM is a founding member of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Science-Policy-Enterprise Environment Forum and the Climate Policy Council, and supports communities vulnerable to climate change and other environmental issues through initiatives such as the IBM Sustainability Accelerator. Last year Justina Nixon, Vice President CSR went to COP 27 to present initiatives related to agriculture and renewable energy.
IBM’s role at COP28 builds on a long history of action, research and environmental advocacy. The company established its first environmental policy more than 50 years ago, in 1971, and published a statement on climate change in 2007.
8 years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, negotiators from more than 190 countries will discuss the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement to assess the global response to the climate crisis and make recommendations on the best way forward. Issues related to adaptation and mitigation will be at the centre of the negotiations. The Global Stocktake is held every five years and is intended to inform the next set of nationally determined contributions to be submitted by 2030. A synthesis report for the first global stocktake was released a week ago.
