Sustainable development

Inter-Parliamentary Union

The IPU is the global organisation of national parliaments. It was founded more than 130 years ago as the world’s first multilateral political organisation, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 181 national Member Parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments develop into stronger, younger, greener, more gender-balanced, and more innovative institutions. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world.

Digital activities

The IPU’s digital activities mainly focus on the promotion of the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in parliaments, including AI. To this end, it has established a Centre for Innovation in Parliament, which undertakes research on the impact of digital technologies on parliaments, publishes the landmark World e-Parliament Report, hosts the biannual World e-Parliament Conference and coordinates a network of parliamentary hubs on innovation in parliaments. 

The IPU has also recently developed new tools and resources on AI to help parliaments become stronger and more effective, as well as to share good practice from around the world when it comes to AI policy.

Digital policy issues

Capacity development 

In line with its objective of building strong and democratic parliaments, the IPU assists parliaments in building their capacity to use ICTs effectively, both in parliamentary proceedings and in communication with citizens. The IPU has also been mandated by its member parliaments to carry on capacity development programmes for parliamentary bodies tasked to oversee the observance of the right to privacy and individual freedoms in the digital environment.

The IPU also encourages parliaments to make use of ICTs as essential tools in their legislative activities. To this aim, the IPU launched the Centre for Innovation in Parliament (CIP) in 2018 to provide a platform for parliaments to develop and share good practices in digital transformation strategies, as well as practical methods for capacity building. The IPU holds the World e-Parliament Conference, a biannual forum that addresses, from both the policy and technical perspectives, how ICTs can help improve representation, law-making, and oversight. It also publishes the annual World E-Parliament Report. 

As of August 2023, eight regional and thematic parliamentary hubs are operating under the Centre for Innovation in Parliament, covering IT governance, open data and transparency, Hispanophone countries, Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Each hub is coordinated by a national parliament and brings together parliaments to work on subjects of common interest, such as remote working methods during COVID-19.

In 2023, the IPU published a Guide to digital transformation in parliaments, in partnership with the Association of Secretaries General of Parliament.

The CIP has seen significant growth in participation, increasing from 27% of parliaments in 2020 to 45% in 2024. An additional 32% of parliaments have expressed interest in future participation. The CIP is working in partnership with the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments and collaborating with the EU and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) as part of ‘INTER PARES–Parliaments in Partnership, the EU’s Global Project to Strengthen the Capacity of Parliaments’.

The IPU has established the Parliamentary Data Science Hub within the CIP, which is working on creating guidelines for AI governance in parliaments. The Hub has published a collection called ‘Use cases for AI in parliaments’ to help parliaments plan, develop, and measure AI implementation. These resources are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

The IPU published the World e-Parliament Report 2024, which surveyed 115 parliaments or chambers in 86 countries and supranational parliaments. The 2024 report introduced the new IPU Digital Maturity Index as a benchmarking tool that ranks parliaments across six key areas. The report identifies a persistent digital divide among parliaments, with a country’s income level being the most significant predictor of digital maturity. According to the report, 68% of parliaments now have multi-year digital strategies (up from previous years), and public engagement remains a weak spot in digital maturity for many parliaments.

Sustainable development 

The IPU works to raise awareness about the sustainable development goals (SDGs) among parliaments, and provides them with a platform to assist them in taking action and sharing experiences and good practices in achieving the SDGs.

Privacy and data protection 

The IPU’s October 2024 Resolution on AI and Democracy emphasises the critical relationship between democratic institutions and emerging AI technologies. Drawing on diverse parliamentary perspectives, the resolution acknowledges the need for responsive regulation that balances innovation with fundamental democratic values and human rights considerations.

The Resolution guides IPU’s work on strengthening parliaments’ capacity in AI governance. Through targeted initiatives, the IPU equips legislative bodies with essential tools and knowledge to effectively shape AI policy frameworks. Emphasising parliament’s crucial oversight role, the IPU helps legislative bodies to effectively balance innovation with ethical considerations, data protection, and human rights safeguards.

Freedom of expression 

The IPU Committee on Democracy and Human Rights works, among others, on promoting the protection of freedom of expression in the digital era and the use of social media as an effective tool to promote democracy. In 2015, the IPU adopted a resolution on ‘Democracy in the digital era and the threat to privacy and individual freedoms’, which encourages parliaments to remove all legal limitations on freedom of expression and the flow of information, and urges them to enable the protection of information in cyberspace, so as to safeguard the privacy and individual freedom of citizens. 

In 2023, the Committee decided to prepare a resolution titled ‘The impact of artificial intelligence on democracy, human rights and the rule of law’, for adoption in October 2024. Preparation of the resolution is accompanied by capacity development activities for parliamentarians on AI.
It offers virtual training sessions for parliamentarians. Its IPU Parline database is an open data platform on national parliaments, which includes data on the age of people in parliament, as well as a monthly ranking of women in national parliaments.

Artificial intelligence

The IPU has recently published two new resources to help parliaments unlock the benefits of AI to enhance their efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity while mitigating the risks of this rapidly evolving technology.

The Guidelines for AI in parliaments offer a comprehensive framework for parliaments to understand and implement AI responsibly and effectively.

They provide practical guidance on the importance of a strategic approach, strong governance, ethical considerations, and risk management. The Guidelines underscore the importance of using AI to augment and enhance human capability rather than replace it, especially in democratic deliberation and decision-making.

The Guidelines cover several key areas, including the potential role of AI in parliaments, the related risks and challenges, suggested governance structures and AI strategy, ethical principles and risk management, training and capacity development, and how to manage a portfolio of AI projects across parliament. 

Key recommendations include:

  • Start with small pilot projects to build experience.
  • Focus on use cases with clear benefits and manageable risks.
  • Ensure robust human oversight of AI systems.
  • Prioritise transparency and accountability.
  • Invest in data and AI literacy across the organisation.
  • Engage with diverse stakeholders throughout the process.

The Guidelines are complemented by a series of Use cases for AI in parliaments, which offer potential roadmaps for parliamentary AI adoption. 

A ‘use case’ describes how a system should work. It is used to plan, develop and measure implementation. Use cases translate the abstract potential of AI into practical applications for parliamentary operations.

The IPU is also tracking parliamentary actions on AI policy by documenting a range of initiatives on AI taking place in national parliaments, including legislative reviews, reports, resolutions, inquiries, working groups, and policy discussions.

Parliamentary actions have so far been observed in 26 countries. Information is sourced from parliaments and updated every month.

For more information about IPU’s work on AI, visit www.ipu.org/AI or contact innovation@ipu.org.

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UNESCO to train media in West Africa to use digital tools to cover environmental issues

UNESCO will implement a project in four African countries – Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon – to train news teams from leading media organisations to use digital tools for investigating and reporting on environmental issues.

Given the numerous presence of international and national extractive companies in Africa, Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, highlighted local media’s role in monitoring these companies’ activities and holding them accountable in case of environmental violations.

In addition to equipping media teams with skills to use technologies such as satellite imagery, databases on climate indicators, 3-D modelling, digital maps and others, UNESCO will also instruct them on researching public records for their coverage, including environmental laws and regulations.

After completion of the project, participants are expected to be able to expose actors who are not complying with environmental laws and commitments, identify discrepancies between officially released data and reality and dispute statements made by politicians.

World Economic Forum issues ‘State of the Connected World 2023’ report

The World Economic Forum and the Council on the Connected World published the State of the Connected World 2023 report exploring governance gaps related to the internet of things (IoT). The report outlines the findings of a survey conducted with 271 experts worldwide to understand the state of IoT affairs. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased IoT demand in health, manufacturing, and consumer IoT. However, there is a lack of confidence when it comes to matters such as privacy and security.

Two main governance gaps are identified: (1) a lack of governmental regulation and implementation of industry standards and (2) IoT users are more susceptible to cyber threats and cyberattacks.

One recommendation is for businesses and governments to develop and implement practices to improve privacy and security and create a more inclusive and accessible IoT ecosystem. The need to improve equal access to technology and its benefits is also underscored.

Lockheed Martin will work with NVIDIA to build an AI-driven Earth Observations Digital Twin for NOAA

Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company, and NVIDIA, a global leader in accelerated computing, will collaborate to build an AI-driven Earth Observations Digital Twin for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It will provide NOAA with a centralised approach to monitoring global environmental conditions, including extreme weather events.

The project will use satellite and ground-based observations, which will be ingested, analysed, shared and visually represented by various platforms developed by the two companies.

Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency launches digital system for environmental inspection and compliance evaluation

The Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD) launched ‘Eltezam’, a digital system for environmental inspection and compliance evaluation. The new system allows EAD inspectors to review any aspect of an organisation’s activities regarding potential environmental harms (regardless of whether the activities are listed in the organisation’s environmental licence).

The system is built on algorithms that connect industrial sectors with production processes and conditions.

Faisal Al Hammadi, Acting Executive Director of the Environmental Quality Sector at EAD, noted: ‘The agency has developed modern technological tools and programs that ensure compliance by industrial facilities and development projects with environmental laws and requirements.’

The Unit Head, Compliance and Enforcement at EAD, Ahmed Al Waheebi, said that this new digital system aims to strengthen EAD’s inspection role and expand its coverage to all industrial sectors, infrastructure projects, and commercial activities under its jurisdiction.

Nigeria revises enviornmental legislations to tackle e-waste crisis

A large amount of electronic waste
Nigeria revises enviornmental legislations to tackle e-waste crisis 4

On January 5, 2023, the Nigerian government announced a review of national environmental regulations to address the country’s long-lasting e-waste crisis. Nigeria is the largest gateway to the African continent for imports of electrical and electronic equipment. Annually, the country disposes and processes more than half a million tons of electronics and nearly 100,000 people make their living working in the electronics recycling sector.

The changes in the legislation were enabled by the Circular Economy Approaches for the Electronics Sector in Nigeria project, an initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), led by UNEP and implemented by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency of Nigeria (NESREA).

According to NESREA Director General, Prof. Aliyu Jauro:

“The revised regulations bind all manufacturers and importers of electrical equipment, e-waste collection centres, and recycling facilities to register with the E-waste Producer Responsibility Organization Nigeria (EPRON), marking an essential step towards the operationalization of a financially self-sustaining circular electronics network.”

Click here to find more information.

The UN CTCN is hosting a 3-day capacity building programme on the applications of digital agriculture technology

Between 14 and 16 December 2022, the UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), in collaboration with the Seoul National University Global R&DB Centre, is holding a 3-day capacity building programme on ‘Digital Technology Applications in the Agriculture Sector’ for National Designated Entities and officers from concerned Ministries of Agriculture.

The application of digital technologies in agriculture can help transform food systems, contributing to the three stages of sustainability, namely efficiency, substitution, and redesign. The workshop will introduce digital technology enhancements in sustainable agriculture and food systems. Technology, climate finance and policy experts will present current information regarding CTCN technical assistance projects focused on enhancing national capacities and sector-specific climate challenges. Participants will have the opportunity to co-design these projects.

EU lawmakers: Batteries produced in Europe to be the most sustainable in the world

The European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement to revise EU rules on batteries. The new set of rules is to account for the current technological development and future challenges and will cover the entire battery life cycle: from the extraction of raw materials, to industrial production, to end-of-life disposal.

Once approved, the new regulation will be applied to all batteries sold in the EU, from portable batteries in electronic devices, to batteries used in electronic vehicles, e-scooters, and e-bikes. Moreover, all batteries must display a ‘carbon footprint declaration’, outlining the carbon expended in production. Batteries will also be required to contain QR codes that link to the information related to their capacity, performance, durability, and chemical composition.

The agreement, which is yet to be formally approved by the Council and Parliament, relates to a proposal for a regulation on batteries and waste batteries put forward by the European Commission in December 2020.

Bridging the digital divide with Public ICT Access Centres for access to free ICT literacy training and online education

In September 2022, the Ministry of Digital Transformation committed itself to the unveiling of up to 50 ICT Access Centres across the country by the year’s end. The commitment came on the heel of the release of the UNDP’s Digital Readiness Assessment Report in March 2022, which highlighted key problem areas for the country in its quest for whole-of-government, whole-of-society digital transformation as including:

1. The lack of access to broadband internet in public spaces and schools, regardless of area within the country.
2. Older residents and those outside of urban centres receive reduced digital benefits.
3. The effects of COVID-19 exacerbated digital divides on education level.

The Access Centres allow visitors to Connect and Create, Educate and Innovate, while the government has partnered with key organisations such as the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA) Online Programme, YTEPP, and the Microsoft Philanthropic Group to bring these goals to fruition.

To this date, twelve centres have been installed, while five are open and ready to serve.

Amazon Web Services to be water positive by 2030

Amazon Web Services, Inc. has announced plans to become water positive by 2030, ‘returning more water to the communities than it uses in its direct operations’. The company plans to issue annual reports on its water use efficiency metric, new water reuse and recycling efforts, new activities to reduce water consumption in its facilities, and advancements in new and existing replenishment projects. The announcement details that new replenishment projects are scheduled in India, the UK, and the USA.