The Climate Change Conference
From October 31 to November 12 this year, the United Nations COP26 conference was held in Glasgow. The purpose of this gathering was to contain and limit the current climate crisis through a common agreement on interventions. A crisis that, now more than ever, is felt by public opinion and that now appears to be of primary importance for national governments.
In particular, some proposed objectives are to “end fossil fuel subsidies, gradually eliminate coal, put a price on carbon, protect vulnerable communities, and meet the $100 billion financial commitment for climate”, as stated by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The climate crisis, as is well known, is not a distant, remote threat. Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent: as Professor Petteri Taalas of the World Meteorological Organization states, “Extreme events are the new norm”. And these events jeopardize the safety of entire human communities by devastating fields, roads, and populated centers, with heavy socio-economic repercussions.
In this context, the world of Innovation is also mobilizing to counteract the consequences of climate change through various Artificial Intelligence projects.
Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change
Artificial Intelligence finds various possible applications in the fight against climate change. Indeed, as noted in a study by Lynn H. Kaack, Priya L. Donti, Emma Strubell, and David Rolnick, artificial intelligence can be applied to:
- Data collection: artificial intelligence is capable of analyzing datasets “such as geospatial imagery, text documents, or sensor data” that allow for the extraction of new information used, for example, to limit greenhouse gas emissions and improve the energy efficiency of buildings.
- Forecasting: through data analysis, it is possible to make predictions, for example, regarding “wind power production, transportation demand, and extreme events”, thereby supporting decisions even in emergency management.
- Accelerating scientific experimentation: artificial intelligence algorithms enable the acceleration of the research process on new technologies. By improving data processing, they can provide relevant information for the more accurate development of subsequent experiments: “AI can help accelerate the development of clean technologies such as batteries or next generation solar cells.”
Interesting projects are also active in Italy to combat climate change. This is the case of the CLINT project, which started in July this year: here’s what it’s about.
CLImate INTelligence
“CLINT”, a fusion of CLimate INTelligence, is a project by the Foundation Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change – CMCC, launched on July 7, 2021 and financed by the European Commission. It is coordinated by the Politecnico di Milano.
The goal of the project, as stated on the official website, is to “fully exploit the potential of the collected data” for three main objectives:
- to identify climatic patterns and their evolutions,
- to validate the causalities of the physical evidence of potentially related phenomena,
- to discover the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and human activities in causing extreme weather events.
In this way, CLINT will support meteorological sciences in the identification, attribution, and forecasting of extreme weather events.
An Ethical Technology
CLINT is one of many possible applications of Artificial Intelligence in the field of climatology. Artificial Intelligence is therefore not merely an innovative tool reserved for narrow research areas, but a resource with enormous potential to confront and mitigate the damages of climate change. Indeed, Artificial Intelligence can be applied not only to profit-driven activities but also for purely ethical purposes, such as safeguarding the environment and future generations.
Martina Cantù, Federico Mandelli
To learn more:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59105963
- Lynn H. Kaack, Priya L. Donti, Emma Strubell and David Rolnick (2020), “Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change: Opportunities, considerations, and policy levers to align AI with climate change goals“
- https://climateintelligence.eu/
- https://www.cmcc.it/it/projects/clint-climate-intelligence-extreme-events-detection-attribution-and-adaptation-design-using-machine-learning