IEEE’s position in combatting local weather change at COP29

IEEE continues to boost its visibility as a trusted voice on mitigating the consequences of local weather change. Final yr Saifur Rahman, the 2023 IEEE president, represented the group in a number of classes on the U.N. Local weather Change Convention (COP29). Representatives from greater than 200 nations attended the November occasion, held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Rahman, an influence skilled, is a professor {of electrical} and pc engineering at Virginia Tech. In Baku he mentioned IEEE’s efforts together with serving to to develop applied sciences that assist mitigate local weather change, instructing sustainable applied sciences to younger engineers in growing nations, and publishing unbiased data.

Then in December, IEEE and the Worldwide Telecommunication Union held a symposium on reaching local weather resilience. Rahman was the occasion’s common chair. Along with high-level representatives from U.N. companies, there have been representatives from different IEEE teams together with the Energy & Vitality Society, the Requirements Affiliation, Younger Professionals, and the group’s Europe workplace.

The occasion was held at ITU’s headquarters in Geneva on 12 and 13 December. Individuals included engineers, business specialists, policymakers, researchers, and requirements improvement organizations. Discussions had been held round 4 key areas: analysis, expertise, and requirements; coverage, regulation and implementation; schooling and expertise improvement; and finance, commerce, and improvement.

IEEE’s local weather motion actions at COP29

IEEE can serve humanity by selling clean-tech options for local weather sustainability, Rahman declared in his COP29 presentation.

“Pragmatic and accessible technical options are urgently wanted to handle local weather change,” he mentioned. “As engineers and technologists, we’re uniquely positioned to offer technical options and provide a impartial house for dialogue and motion.”

He highlighted a number of IEEE assets together with the Local weather Change web site, which homes all of the group’s assets. The IEEE Xplore Digital Library’s local weather change assortment comprises publications, convention proceedings, technical requirements, and different analysis supplies. The most recent analysis and upcoming conferences are within the IEEE Expertise Middle for Local weather.

Rahman identified IEEE Requirements Affiliation Business Connections packages on inexperienced hydrogen, marine carbon dioxide removing, and low-carbon constructing electrical expertise.

He reiterated six possible options for decarbonization in industrialized and rising economies that he first promoted at COP27 in 2022 to facilitate the worldwide shift towards renewable power. The options contain decreasing electrical energy utilization; making coal crops extra environment friendly; utilizing hydrogen, carbon seize, and storage applied sciences; selling the usage of renewables; putting in new varieties of nuclear reactors; and inspiring cross-border energy transfers.

Rahman attended a number of COP29 facet occasions:

The In the direction of a Expertise Pledge for Tripling Renewables session coated methods to extend electrical energy capability by 2030. A talented workforce is required to attain the objective, Rahman identified, so it’ll require an funding in schooling and coaching. He mentioned he believes nations should look exterior their borders to search out skilled technologists to assist design, set up, and preserve renewable power tasks. IEEE will help allow data switch and workforce improvement, he famous.

The Bridging Finance and Expertise occasion targeted on funding local weather motion. Cash alone received’t remedy the problem, nonetheless, Rahman mentioned, with no viable technical plan. He mentioned IEEE’s position is to assist facilitate investments in carbon-reduction applied sciences by selling energy-efficient methods and renewable power tasks.

“Pragmatic and accessible technical options are urgently wanted to handle local weather change. As engineers and technologists, we’re uniquely positioned to offer technical options and provide a impartial house for dialogue and motion.” —2023 IEEE President Saifur Rahman

Within the Creating Inexperienced Expertise for Younger Professionals session, he spoke about the necessity to prepare younger engineers in growing nations on renewable power and sustainable applied sciences. He pointed to the IEEE Younger Professionals Local weather and Sustainability Process Power, launched in 2023 to encourage the subsequent era to steer initiatives and develop potential options. An article revealed by The Institute discusses a number of of the duty pressure’s current actions.

The Intergenerational Dialog for Shaping Future Local weather Landscapes session coated managing long-term atmospheric carbon dioxide, constructing a worldwide local weather threat community, and aligning carbon pricing globally.

Rahman once more pointed to IEEE’s 30,000 younger professionals from 190 nations. He inspired the viewers to make the most of them to assist unfold the phrase about how expertise will help handle local weather change.

Worldwide Telecommunication Union Secretary-Common Doreen Bogdan-Martin and 2023 IEEE President Saifur Rahman had been panelists at a U.N. symposium discussing applied sciences that may assist mitigate local weather change. D. Woldu/ITU

“IEEE has a really robust local weather change program,” he mentioned. “We write papers, however we [also] need to make sure that folks on the bottom profit from our work. IEEE has sections in over 140 nations. They embrace engineers, IT professionals, and even businesspeople. I’m pleading with you to make use of us for the good thing about the local people.”

IEEE-ITU strategic alternatives

In Rahman’s opening remarks, he burdened a bottom-up method to expertise that helps top-down coverage frameworks, guaranteeing that IEEE’s greater than 486,000 members—he calls its human applied sciences—can contribute to options.

James E. Matthews III, president of the IEEE Requirements Affiliation, burdened that technical requirements are the muse for scalable local weather options. He mentioned the agility of organizations comparable to IEEE SA in growing pointers for brand new applied sciences together with synthetic intelligence and inexperienced tech options has resulted of their speedy adoption.

In discussing how the position of mental property, particularly patents, will help obtain the U.N. Sustainable Improvement Targets, IEEE Fellow Claudio Canizares known as for a shift from remoted and proprietary work to extra collaborative options. {The electrical} and pc engineering professor on the College of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada, defined how IEEE may play an important position.

One other matter of debate was the necessity to educate and prepare folks on implementing climate-resistant applied sciences. Sneha Satish Hegde, an IEEE member, highlighted how the IEEE Younger Professionals Local weather and Sustainability Process Power offers mentorship and coaching. Hegde, a scientific researcher, is the duty pressure’s partnership lead. The duty pressure held a panel session throughout final yr’s Local weather Week NYC, which ran from 22 to 29 September to coincide with the U.N. Summit of the Future. Local weather-change specialists from organizations and authorities companies around the globe highlighted the intersection of expertise, coverage, and citizen engagement.

How IEEE can help

A abstract of the IEEE-ITU symposium outlines methods IEEE can proceed to take a lead position in local weather resilience by increasing partnerships, standardizing options, strengthening the repository of knowledge, selling round economies, advancing sustainable practices, and bridging the digital divide.

The abstract concludes that by discovering extra companions, creating and strengthening requirements, and fostering capacity-building, IEEE may catalyze systemic change, contributing to a extra resilient future.