CODES Update June 2021

1. Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) initiates flagship report and multistakeholder consultation process

CODES  kicked off the co-design and ideation process for the flagship report " A Digital Planet for Sustainability ". The consultation process is being held on the UN Sparkblue platform. A virtual conference "A Digital Planet for Sustainability" is being organized on 30 June and 1 July to validate the report and to co-design the Action Plan and operational strategy with CODES stakeholders. More information on this event - or to request an invitation - is available  here .

2. Digital Discovery session on Open Digital Infrastructures for Climate Accounting on 10 June from 4 to 6 pm CET

This Digital Discovery session will introduce the Hyperledger Climate Action Special Interest Group (CA2SIG) and the  Open Earth Foundation  and their approach to bridging open collaboration platforms, tools and processes to integrate a fractionalized climate solution and innovation space. The session will be hosted by  Katherine Foster , the Community Director of the Open Earth Foundation,  Martin Wainstein , the founder and lead scientist at the Yale Open Innovation Lab, and the Executive Director of the Open Earth Foundation, and  Sherwood Moore , the co- chair of CA2SI. More information on this event is available  here . Watch all previous digital discovery sessions  here .

4. UNDP Report: Collective Intelligence for Sustainable Development

The UNDP Accelerator Labs, together with founding investors the Federal Republic of Germany and Qatar Fund for Development, and in partnership with Nesta's Center for Collective Intelligence Design hosted the  launch event of the report series:  Collective Intelligence for Sustainable Development: Getting Smarter Together . This comprehensive research over 277 case studies presents how diverse collective intelligence approaches are being used to speed-up progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

5. CODES featured on the Xploring Podcast of ConservationX

Xploring  with Conservation X Labs is a podcast about unconventional approaches to solving environmental problems. This episode of the podcast features UNEP's David Jensen as he speaks about the vision for accelerating environmental sustainability with digital technologies through CODES and other initiatives.

8. Climate Action Dashboard

With the  Climate Action Dashboard , UNEP is providing key information on the state of the climate and countries' progress towards the commitments under the Paris Agreement in an accessible way. This is only the beginning of UNEP's efforts to provide environmental data and analysis as digital public goods to inform stakeholders as well as the general public. 

9. New Series on Artifical Intelligence (AI) for Environmental Management

A new  Medium series  was launched on the promise and challenges of using AI and machine learning to create a planetary environmental management system. The series is being authored by Dave Thau, WWF Global Data and Technology Lead Scientist. 

Eliane Ubalijoro, Global Hub Director in Canada for Future Earth and Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age

"While the internet might seem like it is everywhere, more than 3 billion people around the world are still offline. That digital divide is not only driving poverty, it's also contributing to climate change and a host of other environmental problems. Digital technology is a game-changer in terms of capacity to study, capacity to get a job, capacity to earn a steady living. But as digitalization accelerates, the gaps between the haves and have nots has been increasing. If we really want to meet the Sustainable Development Goals , especially decreasing poverty and feeding the world, we need to bring down 50 per cent down to 0 per cent. Read more of a recent interview with Eliane  here . "

Sam Barratt, UNEP Chief of Youth, Education & Advocacy in Ecosystems Division

"My hope for digital transformation and CODES is that it genuinely enables us to try something new that both resets and redefines how companies, citizens and countries can collaborate in keeping the planet we love safe through smart digital technologies. We can't afford to bet on mediocrity and business as usual while celebrating process as an outcome. Instead, we have to build an empowered, trusting and understanding culture that takes bold risks in the pursuit of game-changing ideas and sectoral transformation. Our  Playing for the Planet Alliance  is one of the ways we are using digital technologies to achieve sector-wide impacts for environmental awareness and sustainability. "