High-level Roundtable: A Digital Climate-Resilient Future

For the Philippines, digital transformation is not treated as a technology agenda but as a resilience strategy. Connectivity determines who receives early warnings before storms, whether schools remain operational, and whether governments can continue functioning when disasters strike. This reframing positions digital infrastructure as a fundamental component of national resilience.

The Philippines has established over 24,000 free public internet access points, connected 95% of public schools, built over 3,000 kilometres of national fibre, and launched an e-government super app with more than 55 million downloads offering over 260 public services . The country is also building a National Emergency Communications Plan (NACP) to ensure connectivity does not disappear during disasters .

The speaker argues that having more technology or more data does not automatically translate into better resilience or better decisions. The critical factor is whether data is timely, trusted, and actionable by those who need it. This makes data governance — not hardware procurement — the central challenge.

The speaker explicitly stated that more technology does not automatically mean more resilience and more data does not automatically mean better decisions, emphasising that data helps only if it is timely, trusted, and usable by the people who must act on it, and that this is a governance problem, not a hardware problem .

The speaker calls for international cooperation to go beyond discussion and actually support the deployment of digital climate solutions. She acknowledges that the Philippines still has gaps, including remote areas with uneven local capacity, siloed climate data, and insufficient financing. The world must step in to help bridge these gaps.

The speaker noted that digital and climate data sits in silos, financing does not match the scale of risk, and that international cooperation must help countries deploy solutions rather than merely discuss them . She invoked the Filipino concept of bayanihan - neighbours lifting each other up - to illustrate the principle that governments, communities, industries, and partners must all carry the digital climate resilience agenda together so no community is left behind .

The speaker draws on the Filipino cultural concept of bayanihan, rooted in the word for heroism, to articulate a vision of collective responsibility in building a digital climate resilient future. This principle holds that no single actor — government, community, industry, or partner — can carry the agenda alone. It serves as a call for inclusive, collaborative action.

The speaker explained that bayanihan stems from the root word for heroism and means neighbours lifting each other up, applying this to a digital climate resilience future where government, communities, industries, and partners all carry the agenda together so that no community is left behind . She also referenced the national commitment to the theme 'no Filipino left behind, no Filipino left offline' .

Drawing on her background as a physicist, the speaker draws a parallel between the unresolved question of information loss in black holes and the ongoing loss of biological information on Earth. She argues that species extinction represents a profound and irreversible loss of information encoded at the genetic level. The largely unexplored oceans compound this problem, as information is being lost before it can even be discovered.

The speaker noted that 150 species are lost each day, with each species carrying 1.5 gigabytes of data at the DNA level . She also highlighted that 72% of the world is underwater and mostly unexplored, meaning information is being lost before it can even be discovered . She drew an analogy with the physics debate over whether black holes destroy or preserve information beyond the event horizon .

The speaker critically examines the proposed solution of relocating AI computing infrastructure to space, where solar panels have higher efficiency than on Earth. She identifies several serious risks: space radiation can randomly alter the weights stored in AI models, potentially causing catastrophic outcomes; launching data centres into space generates significant carbon emissions; and when hardware reaches end of life and re-enters the atmosphere, it produces metal oxide pollution.

The speaker noted that radiation in space can change AI model weights without detection, potentially causing catastrophic outcomes . She questioned how much carbon would be emitted to put data centres into space and raised concerns about metal oxides entering the atmosphere from e-waste re-entry . She also referenced a company planning 1.2 million satellites valued at a $1.6 trillion IPO .

The speaker expresses concern that the growing emphasis on resilience and adaptation signals a collective acknowledgement that mitigation targets are no longer achievable. She finds this troubling as a physicist, particularly because the additional heat loads generated by AI computing around the world are not being adequately accounted for in climate discussions. This represents a compounding problem that is not yet being honestly confronted.

The speaker stated that the use of the word 'resilience building' reflects a prioritisation of adaptation over everything else because 'we are aware that we cannot meet the goal', which she described as sad . She also noted that additional heat loads from AI compute around the world are not being adequately addressed, and expressed hope that this would be discussed at COP in Turkey .

The speaker references the UN AI Scientific Panel's commitment to producing thematic briefs on specific emerging technology areas, including quantum computing and space computing. These briefs are intended to address acknowledged gaps in current knowledge and governance frameworks. This represents a concrete step towards more comprehensive multilateral governance of new and emerging technologies.

The speaker noted that the UN AI Panel report promised thematic briefs on quantum and space computing to fill gaps in knowledge . She also announced a panel the following day at 2:30 on AI compute in space, with SpaceX participating, where she planned to ask about carbon emissions from putting data centres into space .

The speaker makes a strong economic and developmental case for investing in climate data infrastructure. Better data enables earlier risk anticipation, more targeted use of limited resources, and faster action on the ground. The figures cited from the World Meteorological Organization and World Bank demonstrate that closing the climate data gap is not only a development priority but a smart economic investment.

The World Meteorological Organization estimates that closing the essential weather and climate data gap could reduce forecast errors by 30% in Africa and 20% in the Pacific . According to World Bank data, better forecasts and their practical application could produce US $5 billion in annual direct benefits and US $160 billion in wider economic gains .

The speaker argues that investing in climate data is not only an economic priority but also a tool for empowering local communities. Through GIZ's Fair Forward AI for All initiative, community-based weather stations were set up with resident involvement, producing data that people trust and use because it was created with them. This locally relevant data directly supports the livelihoods of fishermen and other community members.

Through the Fair Forward AI for All initiative, GIZ and local partners set up 53 community-based weather stations and low-cost environmental sensors across 10 provinces, with residents actively involved in their development . Fishermen helped identify ideal locations for the weather stations , and the resulting data now allows fishermen to decide when to go out to sea, prepare for storms, and adjust their livelihoods .

The speaker highlights GIZ's portfolio of more than 30 scalable open-source AI and data-powered climate solutions as a model for reducing digital dependencies in developing countries. Because these solutions are open source, they can be adapted to different local contexts and further developed by local partners without reliance on external providers. The consistent lesson across all of them is that digital technologies strengthen climate resilience when they close the gap between data and action and are built with the people who rely on them.

GIZ has developed more than 30 scalable open-source AI and data-powered climate solutions across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America . As open-source solutions, they can be adapted to different local contexts and further developed by partners themselves, reducing digital dependencies . The overarching lesson is that digital technologies strengthen climate resilience when they close the gap between data and action and are built with the people who rely on them .

The speaker describes the findings of UNEP's Global Environmental Data Strategy, which critically examined the global environmental data ecosystem and identified several systemic issues. The most significant of these is interoperability, but the strategy also identified gaps in data governance principles, capacity, access, affordability, and quality measurement. When presented to all 193 member states, the biggest concern raised was not about the diagnosis but about the risk of adding to already overwhelming reporting obligations.

UNEP's Global Environmental Data Strategy identified the biggest issues as interoperability, lack of clear data governance principles, lack of capacity, lack of access and affordability, and absence of clear quality metrics . When presented to all 193 member states, the biggest concern was that it would add to their reporting obligations, as countries are already overwhelmed with NDCs, NPSAPs, and other annual reporting requirements .

The speaker identifies a structural problem in international development financing: donors prefer to fund new, discrete use cases rather than foundational infrastructure or the scaling of proven solutions across countries. This creates a persistent gap in the data infrastructure that developing countries need to meet their reporting obligations. The result is that countries remain overwhelmed and critical systemic gaps go unfilled.

The speaker described her two 'pet peeves' with donors: they do not want to fund foundational work, only use cases, and they only want to fund new use cases rather than things that grow and scale across different countries . She noted there is 'no money in foundation' and 'no money in scalability' , and called on anyone with influence over funding to look at scaling use cases and delivering a common data infrastructure .

The speaker presents a concrete example of how transboundary data sharing can be made to work in practice. A GIZ-funded pilot project involving three African countries, including Uganda, focused on sharing data for flood early warning preparedness. The project demonstrated that when a use case delivers clear economic and societal benefits and provides appropriate assurances around data sovereignty, countries are willing to share data across borders.

GIZ funded a pilot project on transboundary data sharing between three African countries, including Uganda, specifically to share data on preparedness for early warnings for floods . The speaker noted that environmental catastrophes know no boundaries, making transboundary data sharing vital, and that once a viable use case with economic and societal benefits is created, sovereignty concerns can be addressed .

The speaker presents the positive potential of digital technologies as a counterbalance to their environmental costs. He argues that digital technologies, if properly deployed, can be a major tool for addressing the climate crisis rather than merely contributing to it. The 20% reduction figure by 2050 encompasses a range of applications including smarter energy systems, efficient transport, and precision agriculture.

The speaker cited statistics indicating that digital technologies could reduce 20% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through enabling smarter energy systems, efficient transport, and precision agriculture . He also noted that climate monitoring already contributes an estimated $440 billion to global GDP, with a further $250 billion in annual value being utilised .

The speaker presents the environmental costs of the digital sector as a serious concern that must be addressed alongside the sector's potential benefits. He outlines a set of alarming statistics about the sector's growing footprint across multiple dimensions: greenhouse gas emissions, electricity consumption, e-waste, and water use. These figures underscore the urgency of managing the digital sector's own environmental impact.

The speaker cited that the digital sector accounts for up to 4% of gas emissions, that data centre electricity consumption will probably double by 2030, that e-waste will reach 2.5 million tonnes annually by 2030, and that water consumption will be equivalent to that of 1.3 billion people in sub-Saharan Africa .

The speaker describes ITU's ongoing work to document and assess the practical application of digital technologies to climate challenges. The collection of 150 use cases, a quarter of which integrate AI and machine learning, provides an evidence base for understanding what is already being done. The assessment of climate pledges reveals that while 90% integrate digital solutions, most do so at a superficial level, indicating significant room for deeper integration.

ITU has collected 150 use cases of how digital technologies can be used for climate, with 25% integrating AI and machine learning . An assessment of current climate pledges found that 90% integrate digital solutions, but most do so at a rather superficial level . ITU is also working with UNFCCC on platforms to integrate data and AI into measurement of NDCs .

The speaker traces the evolution of the Green Digital Action initiative from its origins as an industry effort during COVID-19 to a major political milestone at COP29. The declaration, endorsed by over 80 countries and 1,800 non-state actors as a presidency initiative, represented a significant convergence of political will around integrating digital and climate agendas. The initiative has since moved from political momentum to an implementation track.

The Green Digital Action initiative began as an industry effort during COVID-19 and evolved to COP29, where a Green Digital Action Declaration was launched as a presidency initiative with over 80 countries committing and 1,800 non-state actors endorsing it . The initiative has since moved to an implementation track with the Green Digital Action Hub and the launch of the AI Climate Institute .

The speaker references a G7 AI environmental transfer initiative as a concrete governance mechanism that ITU and its partners are ready to implement. This initiative represents a step beyond declarations and towards operational delivery, with the intention of bringing it to COP as a tangible outcome. It reflects the broader shift from ambition to implementation in the digital climate agenda.

The speaker mentioned a G7 announcement of an AI environmental transfer initiative, with ITU, the UNFCCC, and other partners ready for its implementation, which they plan to bring to COP . He invited all participants to join or continue joining this effort .

The speaker articulates Uganda's vision of a digital climate resilient future as one in which digital transformation actively strengthens the country's capacity across the full cycle of climate risk management: preparation, response, and recovery. This vision links digital transformation directly to sustainable development goals. Connectivity is framed not merely as an economic enabler but as a component of national resilience.

The speaker stated that for Uganda, a digital climate resilient future means ensuring that digital transformation strengthens the ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related risks while supporting sustainable development . He noted that expanding connectivity, digital services, and ICT access creates opportunities to improve resilience through better access to information, early warning communication, climate monitoring, and data-driven planning .

The speaker argues that digital transformation must be environmentally responsible, not just economically beneficial. As Uganda and other countries expand their digital infrastructure, they must simultaneously manage the environmental consequences, including energy consumption, e-waste, and the broader footprint of ICT deployment. Uganda is already advancing practical work in these areas.

The speaker identified digital transformation's environmental responsibility as a third priority, noting that as connectivity, devices, and digital services expand, the environmental footprint of the ICT sector - including energy use, e-waste, equipment lifecycle management, and responsible infrastructure deployment - must be managed . Uganda is already implementing ICT waste management systems, sustainable digital inclusion, sector environmental and health safety reporting, and planned work on the communication sector's energy and carbon footprint .

The speaker raises a critical capacity gap: as new ICT technologies such as low Earth orbit satellites are deployed in Africa and other developing regions, local engineers often lack the expertise to assess their environmental impacts. This creates a situation where countries are subject to the effects of technologies they cannot independently evaluate. The speaker calls for technical support, training, and financing to address this gap.

The speaker questioned how many engineers in Africa have the capacity and competence to conduct reliable environmental impact assessments of new ICT deployments such as low Earth orbit satellites, and whether credible reports exist on their effects on weather and people . He called for support - both technical and in the form of training and financing - to help minimise the potential environmental degradation resulting from ICT deployments .

The speaker describes Malaysia's effort to build a comprehensive greenhouse gas baseline across the communications and multimedia sector. This baseline covers Scope 1, 2, and relevant Scope 3 emissions across major licensees and is being aligned with emerging international benchmarks through participation in the ITU I2X Group pilot initiative. The goal is to provide policymakers, regulators, and industry with a clearer evidence base for infrastructure planning and prioritisation.

Malaysia is building a sector-wide greenhouse gas baseline covering Scope 1, Scope 2, and relevant Scope 3 emissions across major licensees . Malaysia is also contributing to the ITU I2X Group on Telecommunications and ICT Indicators pilot initiative, aligning national data with emerging international benchmarks to give policymakers, regulators, and industry a clearer evidence base .

The speaker presents Malaysia's multi-operator core network (MOKEN) sharing agreement as a concrete example of how infrastructure sharing can deliver significant environmental benefits. As the first country globally to implement a six-way MOKEN sharing agreement, Malaysia demonstrates that coordinated network planning and sharing between operators can simultaneously improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and cut e-waste. This model offers a replicable approach for other countries.

Malaysia became the first country globally to have its mobile network operators sign a landmark six-way MOKEN sharing agreement, supported by MCMC's guidelines on network and infrastructure sharing . The sharing model enables energy efficiency improvements of 20-40%, carbon footprint reductions of 10-20%, and e-waste reductions of 15-25% .

The speaker argues that the key challenge for digital climate solutions is not whether they work in principle but how to scale them responsibly beyond pilot projects. He frames the question in terms of concrete outcomes: whether digital solutions help cities manage specific climate stresses, help companies understand supply chain risk, and help governments allocate resources more efficiently. The focus is on moving from demonstration to systemic deployment.

The speaker stated that GeSI focuses on how digital solutions can move beyond pilots and become scalable, sustainable tools for sustainability outcomes . He posed concrete questions about whether digital solutions help cities manage heat, flooding, and water stress, help companies understand and reduce supply chain risk, and help governments allocate resources faster and more fairly .

The speaker makes the point that digital climate solutions are not inherently green and that their own environmental footprint must be managed. AI, connectivity, and data-driven systems all rely on data centres, networks, energy, water, hardware, and materials. Scaling these solutions without addressing their own impact risks compounding the very problems they are meant to solve.

The speaker noted that AI, connectivity, and data-driven systems rely on data centres, networks, energy, water, hardware, and materials, and that scaling digital climate solutions without managing their own footprint risks creating new pressures while trying to solve existing ones . He emphasised the need to plan computing infrastructure together with energy systems, water stewardship, and local resilience .

The speaker positions GeSI as a major private sector voice in the digital climate resilience agenda, representing companies with a combined market value of $6 trillion. He argues that international cooperation has a concrete role to play in creating common frameworks, sharing implementation experience, and supporting capacity building. Critically, he stresses that digital climate solutions must be accessible to the communities most exposed to climate risk, not only to the most advanced markets.

The speaker noted that GeSI brings together the biggest digital companies in the world with a combined market value of $6 trillion . He argued that international cooperation can help create common frameworks, share implementation experience, support capacity building, and ensure that digital climate solutions are not only available to the most advanced markets but also to communities most exposed to climate risk . He also noted that GeSI was born at ITU 25 years ago as a UNEP initiative .

The speaker frames digital technologies as the central nervous system of Turkey's climate adaptation strategy, not merely as supplementary tools. She argues that the intersection of digital transformation and climate change is a fundamental necessity rather than a policy choice. However, she also acknowledges the challenge of ensuring that digital transformation explicitly supports climate resilience without creating trade-offs.

The speaker stated that Turkey sees digital technologies - from advanced early warning systems to AI-driven resource management - as the central nervous system of its climate adaptation efforts . She cited Turkey's experience following the 2023 earthquakes, when satellite data, AI-supported disaster modelling, and real-time sensor networks were integrated into the disaster management system . Meteorological and hydrological monitoring networks are increasingly interoperable with early warning platforms, allowing authorities to anticipate disasters rather than simply react .

The speaker presents COP31, to be hosted by Turkey in Antalya in November 2025, as a pivotal milestone for aligning the global digital agenda with climate action. She outlines a concrete programme of activities planned for the event, including a dedicated digitalisation thematic day, high-level roundtables on AI and digital technologies, and implementation-oriented sessions on finance, capacity building, and partnerships. She invites all stakeholders to join.

Turkey is hosting COP31 in Antalya from 9-20 November 2025 . Planned activities include a dedicated digitalisation thematic day, an administrative dialogue, high-level roundtables on AI and digital technologies' contribution to climate action, implementation-oriented sessions on finance, capacity building, and partnerships, and ecosystem discussions with the private sector and technology companies . The speaker invited all stakeholders to join in Antalya to forge actionable partnerships for a digital climate resilient future .

The speaker highlights the stark disparity in meteorological infrastructure between Africa and developed regions, arguing that this gap cannot be closed quickly through new infrastructure alone. Instead, he advocates for leveraging existing data to deliver practical benefits to developing countries now. The focus should be on what can be done with current data rather than waiting for entirely new systems.

The speaker noted that Africa has 18 times fewer meteorological stations than the US and EU . He argued that using existing data is a fundamental approach, citing GIZ's work with Ecuador to use existing data to provide at least 60 minutes of advance warning for floods . He emphasised that it is not always about having new additional infrastructure but about what can be done with current data to help countries catch up .

The speaker uses the example of GIZ's work with Ecuador to illustrate that meaningful climate resilience improvements can be achieved by better utilising existing data rather than building entirely new infrastructure. Providing 60 minutes of advance flood warning using existing data is a practical, cost-effective approach that can help developing countries improve their resilience without waiting for large-scale infrastructure investments.

The speaker described GIZ's work with Ecuador on an early warning system using existing data that provides at least 60 minutes of advance warning for floods . He used this as evidence that catching up does not always require entirely new infrastructure, but rather better use of what already exists .

The speaker argues that private sector engagement in digital climate solutions will only materialise if there is a clear return on investment. He calls for the development of business models that make private sector participation financially viable, supported by de-risking mechanisms and blended finance. Without these, private capital will not flow to the communities and countries that most need these technologies.

The speaker stated that the private sector will only be involved if there is a return on investment and called for business models that allow the private sector to see profit while also scaling solutions . He noted that most countries seeking these changes are in debt distress, making loans an additional burden, and called for sovereign funds and innovative finance mechanisms to help them move in this direction .

The speaker describes China's national-level policy framework as a foundation for driving the integration of AI and digital technologies across key economic sectors. She acknowledges that enabling cross-industry data flows is challenging but essential. China's strategy on electric power and computing power coordination, covering the full lifecycle, is cited as an example of how policy can drive systemic change.

The speaker referenced China's State Council opinions on accelerating comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, which push AI and digital technology into sectors such as energy, transportation, manufacturing, and infrastructure . She also noted China's strategy on electric power and computing power coordination, which covers the whole lifecycle from beginning to end .

The speaker argues that international standards are a critical enabler for advancing digital sustainability at a global level. She highlights China's work with global partners to develop international standards through ITU, particularly in Study Group 5 on energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, and adaptation. Standards provide a common framework that allows countries and industries to align their efforts and push collective progress.

The speaker noted that China works with global partners on international standards in ITU, including Study Group 5 standards on energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, and adaptation . She also referenced a joint project with ITU called the Series of Activities on ICT Contribution to Sustainability and Climate Action, which involves collectively stock-taking use cases and invites members to contribute their experiences .

The chair opens the session by framing the growing importance of digital technologies in responding to climate impacts. He argues that as climate impacts become more frequent and complex, these tools are not peripheral but central to how societies anticipate risks and act on them. This sets the thematic context for the entire roundtable discussion.

The chair stated that as climate impacts become more frequent and complex, digital tools, data, connectivity, artificial intelligence, and partnership are increasingly central to how we anticipate risks, inform decisions, and support implementation on the ground .

The chair frames the session's purpose as exploring how the green digital action agenda can be adapted to meet resilience needs. He emphasises that progress requires collaboration across a wide range of actors and that the critical challenge is translating ambition into concrete delivery. This positions the roundtable as an implementation-focused dialogue rather than a purely aspirational one.

The chair stated that the session would explore how the green digital action agenda is evolving to respond to resilience needs and how collaboration across governments, UN entities, industry, and partners can help move from ambition to delivery .

The chair observes and affirms the convergence of the first two speakers around the theme of international cooperation. He notes that this cooperation is framed not merely as an exchange of experiences but as collaboration towards a shared digital future. This observation reinforces the session's emphasis on partnership as a core mechanism for progress.

After the interventions from the Philippines and Malaysia, the chair noted that it was very encouraging that the first two interventions were calling for cooperation, not only for sharing experience but for working together for a better digital future .

In his closing remarks, the chair draws together the themes of the roundtable by asserting that digital and environmental agendas must converge rather than operate in parallel. He affirms that the session has demonstrated broad commitment to partnership and that treating digital and environmental issues separately is no longer viable. This serves as a synthesising conclusion to the discussion.

In his closing remarks, the chair stated that he had heard everybody is eager and committed to working in partnership, and emphasised that convergence is necessary, noting that we cannot think of digital separately from environment .