Despite concerns from UK government IT experts that the role of technology in curbing climate change will be left off the agenda at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen in December, some tech companies are planning to make their presence felt in the city.
In a statement released this week, timber mapping and supply chain specialist Helveta announced that it will be showcasing some of its technology at an event in Copenhagen alongside the talks. The company will be appearing at “Forest Day 3″ organised by the Centre for International Forestry (CIFOR) on Sunday 13th December with the main talks set to kick-off on the 7th December through to 18th December.
Helveta is keen to push the benefits its CI World technology can play in helping with sustainable management of forests – however some environmental groups may have concerns about a company that directly benefits from the timber trade being present at an environment conference.
According to the company’s chief executive, Patrick Newton, Helveta is focused on helping with the sustainable management of forests and empowering local communities to better manage assets which with ultimately own. “We are pleased to be part of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in a year when the eyes of the world will be on the Climate Change process more than ever before. It gives us an important opportunity to raise awareness of the work Helveta is doing with civil society and the private sector across the world to map and protect forest assets.”
Some of the the company’s technology involves attaching tags to trees to help governments and businesses track the resource and avoid illegal logging. Helveta was contacted for comment about its precise participation in the conference and any conflicts of interest with its involvement in the timber industry but did not reply in time for this article.
Aside from the ambiguities around the company’s participation in the timber trade, the presence of another technology company in Copenhagen at the time of the talks, contrasts with statements made earlier this month by senior government advisers in the UK that technology was being effectively left out of the UN event.
Without an awareness of the role of IT, plans discussed in Copenhagen run the risk of ignoring the actual methods we need to adopt to reduce emissions, said Catalina McGregor, founder of the UK government’s Green ICT delivery unit at the Green IT Expo earlier this month “We need IT on the COP15 agenda,” she said. “The funding door may close if it is not there.”
Other IT experts have also called for more focus on technology at the talks. Rob Conway, chief executive and member of the board, for mobile industry group the GSMA, has also called for the importance of technology to be noted in meeting any goals thrashed out in Copenhagen.
“The mobile industry could enable greenhouse gas emission reductions of 1,150 Mt CO2e in 2020 – twice the present emissions of the United Kingdom,” he said. “We will be calling upon governments at COP15 to ensure that mobile solutions are at the forefront of the global fight to prevent climate change and mitigate its consequences.”
But Helveta is not the only tech company planning on making its presence felt in Denmark. Networking giant Cisco is one of the business sponsors of the event and is also providing teleconferencing technology to help some delegates remotely connect to experts not at the event – although it is not clear at this stage if some delegates may choose to stay at home and telecommute to the event.
Meanwhile, climate change sceptics are stoking up a fire of controversy, repeating claims that global warming is a fake, and alleging that a conspiracy theory is apparently revealed in emails stolen from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.
“There is a lot at stake for our planet at COP15. As the host country, Denmark is well aware of its responsibility,” said Svend Olling, head of department, Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “It is our ambition to find innovative ways for all parties to the convention as well as civil society representatives to cooperate efficiently and in a sustainable way in order to reach an ambitious deal at COP15 in Copenhagen.”
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"As discussed, we are not participating in any of the policy dialogue at Copenhagen. Instead we are exhibiting at CIFOR's Forest Day 3 industry event. We agree that if we were formulating policy while at the same time as selling our products, there would be a conflict. However that is not taking place. Instead we are demonstrating at Forest Day 3 how our products support the successful implementation of policy initiatives.
Our role is to fill the gap between policy initiatives and their successful deployment in the field. This is what we have done around the world since 2004 by deploying CI World in support of international forest sector programs."
"With regard to Andrew's comment about the profit motive being utilised to address forest sector issues, we would draw attention to the fact that Carbon Credit and Payment for Ecosytem Services financing mechanisms plus REDD itself all rely on the profit motive to resolve deforestation and climate change problems.
Our view is that sustainability and long term profitability are intertwined. Because of this we provide products that support the forest sector in making the move from short term capability in this area to being to deliver long term transparency and forest legality."
Patrick Newton, CEO Helveta