Professor Michael Spence on Climate Challenges and Solutions from Technology Platforms
December 16, 2021 Luohan Academy

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Three developments this year Dr. Spence notes:

  • IPCC Fifth Assessment Report released predicting stark outcomes if temperature changes cannot be held to 1.5 degrees
  • A series of extreme climate events across the world
  • Continued rapid pace of 2 related revolutions: energy transformation and digital transformations


These are among many developments spurring the world to action on climate change.

In this context, what are the roles of the technology firms that run mega-platforms?

First, these firms are users of technology, of power and other resources.


But beyond that? While Dr. Spence thinks they in “their own supply chains that will make a major contribution, the platforms reach so many people. that they can in a creative way influence the behavior of other people by informing them and helping them understand what they can contribute in terms of their own behavior.”


For consumers, these include purchasing behavior, circular behaviors such as recycling.


For producers, these include measurements and statistics on their footprint, data and algorithms to help them reduce their own footprint, and certifications to assure their consumers of their efforts.


Data and its openness is crucial

The platforms can provide a number of technologies and tools to address the climate change challenge. But Dr. Spence says, “when you add them all up, they're not sufficient. We are going to need new incentive structures new mechanisms and new technologies to accomplish the goal of holding climate change to 1.5 degrees.”


Businesses, particularly data rich businesses, should share data that relates to helping climate change. These have to flow freely and frictionlessly to every corner of the world. The platforms are by far the most powerful entities for contributing to get into making sure that happens.

International Cooperation Will Help Climate Goals Drastically

If you take the top 6 countries by emissions they are the United States and Canada as a unit, Europe, China, India, Japan and Russia. Collectively they account for over 70% of global gross emissions. According to Dr. Spence: “One of the things I believe, is that you can make substantial progress if these entities come to agreements and then make sure they're conducted in such a way that it's inclusive so that the rest of the world has opportunities to join the party.”


For ways platforms can help, the industry is currently highly concentrated and the two places with the mega platforms right now are the United States and China, with a “huge opportunity if reasonable cooperation” can be established between countries and individual companies of the platforms between the US and China.

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