Nowadays, the impact of new technologies on the environment is a real issue. The permanent use of technologies contributes to what is called digital pollution. This growing phenomenon is not likely to go away. We ask ourselves how to mitigate this problem.
And if reversing the trend would be the solution? Can digital technology be at the service of the environment?
68 per cent of the environment-related Sustainable Development Goal indicators, there is not enough data to assess progress. The digital initiatives leverage technology to halt the decline of the planet and accelerate sustainable finance, products, services, and lifestyles, according to the UNEP studies.
To address this problem, the Swiss technology company IQAir and UNEP partnered to create the GEMS Air Strategic Plan. This platform collected data from 50 million users in 5,000 cities to fight air pollution. In the future, the program aims to extend this capability directly into cell phone health apps.
Another association demonstrating the power of technology to fight pollution is the Freshwater Ecosystem Explorer.
It provides a detailed overview of the state of lakes and rivers in every country on the planet.
“This data is presented in a policy-friendly way, so citizens and governments can easily assess what is really happening to the world’s freshwater resources,” says Stuart Crane, a freshwater expert at UNEP. “This helps countries track their progress toward achieving Target 6.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Data about the physical environments in which we meet, work, and conduct our daily activities therefore raises serious privacy and security concerns. This is especially true when combined with health data. We need to better understand how to set limits on data collection. For example, we need to determine whether certain types or sources of data should be prohibited. We also need to define limits on how citizens, communities, and businesses can use this data.
However, this improvement in data collection poses considerable privacy and ethical challenges in making the most of the data. The integration and governance of its data poses a considerable challenge.
“Data about the physical environments in which we meet, work, and conduct our daily business therefore raises serious privacy and security concerns. This is especially true when combined with health data. “explains Anders Quitzau Research & Innovation Executive, IBM Research – IBM Watson
Sources :