Managing Director & Senior Partner; Head of BCG Casablanca office; Head of BCG Tech Hub in Africa
Casablanca
By Hamid Maher, Hubertus Meinecke, Damien Gromier, Mateo Garcia-Novelli, and Ruth Fortmann
The changing climate will have a major impact on environmental, social, and economic systems around the globe. We are already experiencing many of its environmental effects, from longer droughts to more destructive storms.
Mitigation is therefore critical, including efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. However, minimizing the harm will also require increasing our efforts at adaptation and resilience—from immediate crisis response to long-term planning. Further, these efforts will require support from activities such as research, finance, and education.
AI as a tool is uniquely positioned to help manage these complex issues. Due to its capacity to gather, complete, and interpret large, complex datasets on emissions, climate impact, and more, it can be used to support all stakeholders in taking a more informed and data-driven approach to combating carbon emissions and building a greener society. It can also be employed to reweight global climate efforts toward the most at-risk regions. (See “Addressing the Needs of the Global South.”)
As such, the use of AI offers an opportunity to make meaningful change in this critical moment, whether through mitigation, adaptation and resilience or by supporting the fundamentals of overall climate efforts.
With this opportunity in mind, BCG recently surveyed global public- and private-sector climate and AI leaders about their views on the potential of AI as a tool in the fight against climate change as well as the roadblocks that prevent its adoption. (See “Survey Methodology.”)
In response, 87% replied that advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, or simply “AI”, is a helpful tool in the fight against climate change today. In addition, 67% of those in the private sector stated that they want governments to do more to support the use of AI in fighting climate change. (See the slideshow.)
Further, 43% of organizations say that they have a vision for using AI in their own climate change efforts—confirming high interest in the potential of this tool. Note that the percentage differs among industries, ranging from over 50% for industrial goods companies to 30% for consumer companies. Geographically speaking, the US shows the highest interest among Global North countries, with 64% of respondents reporting the use of AI in their climate efforts, while an average 42% say that they have a vision for using it.
Note that we employ the term “AI” to refer to artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, defined as the use of sophisticated data analysis techniques such as machine learning algorithms and data engineering.
Global public- and private-sector leaders surveyed see the greatest business value for AI in the reduction and measurement of emissions. However, there are many diverse ways in which global leaders can use AI to achieve their goals.
Within each of these uses, AI can be employed in five leading ways:
It can therefore serve as a tool for helping stakeholders—from businesses and governments to NGOs and investors—take a more informed and data-driven approach, while offering them opportunities to create meaningful change in this critical moment. Note that AI is not the solution itself, but a tool to help leaders and citizens make informed judgments about how to tackle climate challenges.
While there are some areas where AI solutions are well-established and ready for broad application—such as emissions measurement and the monitoring of natural carbon sinks—existing AI-related climate-change solutions today are more typically scattered, difficult to access, and lacking the resources to scale.
In addition, not all organizations are yet actively engaged in climate and AI topics, while even leaders already engaged in this space face many obstacles to climate AI use. In fact, 78% of those surveyed cite low access to AI expertise, whether inside or outside their organization, as an obstacle; 77% report a lack of available AI solutions; and 67% say they face lack of organizational confidence in AI data and analysis.
If they are to achieve widescale adoption, AI solutions need to be designed for user friendliness, regardless of whether they are developed for corporations, governments, or the general public. They need to be easily accessible, offer tangible benefits to the user, and provide clear information to guide user action.
Despite its promise, we note that AI cannot be used to solve the climate crisis in isolation. Rather, it is one of many tools that should be employed to address this global challenge. Individuals, communities, and organizations who have a part to play in combating the climate crisis—regardless of their formal role in AI or climate topics—should therefore consider how other emerging technologies can help and assist in removing obstacles to scale for those as well.
While there are still numerous roadblocks to implementation, we are excited to work with AI for the Planet to help new solutions push past those roadblocks and achieve their potential at scale. We encourage all interested parties to participate in our first call for solutions—including those at any stage of maturity, given a working prototype, and from any sector.
Recognizing that all individuals, communities, and organizations have a role to play regardless of their formal role in AI or climate topics, readers are further invited to consider how other emerging technologies can help fight climate change and to remove obstacles to scale for those as well.
Finally, we encourage readers who are engaged in the climate or AI communities to share the roadblocks, frictions, and pain points they face in engaging with climate analytics, AI solutions for the climate crisis, and other issues. This vital support will inform future publications and, more importantly, help us prioritize our efforts to address these pain points.
This article is adapted from a report created with AI for the Planet, an alliance created by Startup Inside with BCG as a knowledge partner and in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT), and includes additional results from BCG’s survey of global leaders.
Managing Director & Senior Partner; Head of BCG Casablanca office; Head of BCG Tech Hub in Africa
Casablanca
Managing Director & Senior Partner; Global Leader, Climate & Sustainability Practice
Hamburg
今こそ、グローバルな気候変動対策を行動に移す時 BCGはクライアントが気候・サステナビリティへの取り組みの道程を加速し、新たな機会をとらえて競争優位性を築けるよう支援します。
Despite good intentions, companies say they are struggling to cut their emissions in line with targets. Their inability to measure appropriately is the leading roadblock.
PARIS—As climate change continues to present new and complex challenges to leaders around the globe, innovative new AI solutions can help measure, reduce, and remove emissions more effectively; support communities and economies as they adapt to the changing environment; and support overall climate action through research, climate finance, and education. However, numerous roadblocks to implementation at scale remain, from inadequate funding and training to a lack of access to decision makers and best practices.
Artificial intelligence has the potential to reduce companies’ greenhouse gas emissions and cut costs by monitoring their carbon footprint and then reducing it through increased efficiency.