Climate change is the biggest challenge our society faces. As scientists, governments, and industry leaders gather in Baku, Azerbaijan for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, a.k.a. COP29, it’s incumbent upon all of us to find innovative solutions that can drive impact at a global scale. 

The gravity of climate change requires solutions that go beyond incremental change. To find those solutions, we need the ability to make better decisions about how to approach climate mitigation and adaptation across every human activity — from transport, industry, and agriculture to communications, finance, and housing. This requires processing vast volumes of data generated by these industries. The combination of AI and cloud technologies offer the potential to unlock climate change solutions that can be both transformational and global in scale.

We already have a lot of examples that we can draw from.

Today, for example, Google Earth Engine is being used by the Forest Data Partnership, a collaboration for global monitoring of commodity-driven deforestation, to monitor every oil palm plantation around the globe, providing participating companies live early-warning signals for deforestation risks, and dramatically reducing the costs involved in forest monitoring. Similarly, NGIS is using Google Earth Engine to power TraceMark, helping businesses deliver traceability and transparency across global supply chains. 

Another example is Global Fishing Watch, an international nonprofit co-founded by Google that is using geospatial analytics and AI to understand how human activity impacts the seas, global industries, climate, biodiversity and more. The datasets map global ocean infrastructure and vessels that don’t publicly broadcast their positions. This helps to advance policy conversations about offshore renewables development, provides insight into carbon dioxide emissions from maritime vessels, and enables marine protection. 

It’s clear that AI can process large volumes of data, optimize complex systems, and drive the development of new business models. We see businesses harnessing the technology in the fight against climate change in four ways:

1. Measuring business performance 

Businesses are using AI-powered insights to help monitor their advance towards sustainability targets, which ultimately contributes to building business resilience. 

In today's business landscape, this is of paramount importance as companies face growing demands for transparency and accountability regarding their environmental and social impact. 

We are seeing cloud and AI being used to de-risk investments, improve transparency, and increase profitability through the use of large-scale datasets, machine learning, and generative AI. These technologies allow companies to analyze their ESG performance, gain insights into climate risks, and monitor supplier behaviors. 

For example, Palo Alto Networks partnered with Watershed, a Google Cloud Ready - Sustainability Partner, to measure and track their carbon emissions across their entire business using Google Cloud. This partnership enabled them to gain a comprehensive understanding of their environmental impact and set actionable targets for reducing emissions.

Another example is HSBC, which developed a new credit ranking tool on Google Cloud that allows them to run multiple climate risk scenarios simultaneously. This tool empowers HSBC to make more informed investment decisions while considering the potential impact of climate change on their portfolio.

Or Swiss Re, which is using Google Earth Engine and AI for flood modeling for better risk calculation in insurance.

2. Optimizing operations and supply chains 

Secondly, businesses are using AI to optimize their operations and supply chains for energy and resource efficiency, as well as to cut costs. 

This is crucial for companies seeking to enhance their sustainability performance while simultaneously improving their bottom line. Through the use of AI and machine learning, cloud technologies empower organizations to optimize their existing operations, improve cost efficiency, and minimize waste.

For example, Geotab, another Google Cloud Ready - Sustainability partner, is managing 75 billion data records in BigQuery for 4 million commercial fleet vehicles every day to optimize vehicle routes, increase driver safety behaviors and accelerate the path to fleet electrification.

3. Identifying cleaner business models 

As the world shifts towards more sustainable practices, businesses must adapt and identify new avenues for growth. Cloud and AI is helping businesses do just that. Cloud and AI allow organizations to reimagine their business models, explore new markets, and create innovative products and services that align with their sustainability goals.

Recykal, for instance, has partnered with Google Cloud to build Asia's largest circular economy marketplace. By leveraging Google Cloud's AI and machine learning capabilities, Recykal is revolutionizing waste management and promoting sustainable practices in Asia.

Another example is Einride, a company that is reimagining freight transport by using electric, self-driving vehicles and an AI-powered platform. Their innovative approach to logistics is disrupting the transportation industry and contributing to a more sustainable future.

More recently, Climate Engine and Robeco have started using AI and geospatial technologies with their scientific expertise and investment knowledge to inform how publicly traded companies’ actions impact biodiversity. You can read their joint thought leadership paper here. 

4. Building more sustainably

Finally, and very importantly, businesses want to ensure that the actual use of cloud and AI technologies doesn’t lead to increased climate impacts. From the get-go, developers need to take concrete steps towards reducing the carbon footprint and cost of their applications in the cloud. 

This is why, through our Carbon Sense suite, we provide developers with the tools and resources they need to build and deploy applications in a way that minimizes their environmental impact, all while maintaining cost efficiency. 

L'Oréal, for example, leverages Google Cloud's Carbon Footprint tool to track the gross carbon emissions associated with their cloud usage. This allows L'Oréal to understand the environmental impact of their technology decisions and implement strategies to reduce their footprint.

Finally, Google takes its own carbon footprint very seriously, and is pursuing an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions across all of its operations and value chain, supported by a goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where it operates by 2030.

Google Cloud is committed to helping organizations of all sizes achieve their sustainability goals. With cloud, data analytics, and AI, we’re delivering new ways to build resilience, reduce costs, and unlock sustainable growth, while also accelerating the impact of organizations’ sustainability initiatives through the smarter use of data. This is an opportunity to drive tangible business results and create a more sustainable future for all.