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- IEEE’s climate action activities at COP29
- IEEE-ITU strategic opportunities
- How IEEE can assist
- About The Author
IEEE continues to raise its visibility as a trusted voice on mitigating the effects of climate change. Last year Saifur Rahman, the 2023 IEEE president, represented the organization in several sessions at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29). Representatives from more than 200 countries attended the November event, held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Rahman, a power expert, is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech. In Baku he discussed IEEE’s efforts including helping to develop technologies that help mitigate climate change, teaching sustainable technologies to young engineers in developing countries, and publishing unbiased information.
Then in December, IEEE and the International Telecommunication Union held a symposium on achieving climate resilience. Rahman was the event’s general chair. In addition to high-level representatives from U.N. agencies, there were representatives from other IEEE groups including the Power & Energy Society, the Standards Association, Young Professionals, and the organization’s Europe office.
The event was held at ITU’s headquarters in Geneva on 12 and 13 December. Participants included engineers, industry experts, policymakers, researchers, and standards development organizations. Discussions were held around four key areas: research, technology, and standards; policy, regulation and implementation; education and skills development; and finance, trade, and development.
IEEE’s climate action activities at COP29
IEEE can serve humanity by promoting clean-tech solutions for climate sustainability, Rahman declared in his COP29 presentation.
“Pragmatic and accessible technical solutions are urgently needed to address climate change,” he said. “As engineers and technologists, we are uniquely placed to provide technical solutions and offer a neutral space for discussion and action.”
He highlighted several IEEE resources including the Climate Change website, which houses all the organization’s resources. The IEEE Xplore Digital Library’s climate change collection contains publications, conference proceedings, technical standards, and other research materials. The latest research and upcoming conferences are in the IEEE Technology Center for Climate.
Rahman pointed out IEEE Standards Association Industry Connections programs on green hydrogen, marine carbon dioxide removal, and low-carbon building electrical technology.
He reiterated six feasible solutions for decarbonization in industrialized and emerging economies that he first promoted at COP27 in 2022 to facilitate the global shift toward renewable energy. The solutions involve reducing electricity usage; making coal plants more efficient; using hydrogen, carbon capture, and storage technologies; promoting the use of renewables; installing new types of nuclear reactors; and encouraging cross-border power transfers.
Rahman attended several COP29 side events:
The Towards a Skills Pledge for Tripling Renewables session covered ways to increase electricity capacity by 2030. A skilled workforce is needed to achieve the goal, Rahman pointed out, so it will require an investment in education and training. He said he believes countries must look outside their borders to find experienced technologists to help design, install, and maintain renewable energy projects. IEEE can help enable knowledge transfer and workforce development, he noted.
The Bridging Finance and Technology event focused on funding climate action. Money alone won’t solve the issue, however, Rahman said, without a viable technical plan. He said IEEE’s role is to help facilitate investments in carbon-reduction technologies by promoting energy-efficient systems and renewable energy projects.
“Pragmatic and accessible technical solutions are urgently needed to address climate change. As engineers and technologists, we are uniquely placed to provide technical solutions and offer a neutral space for discussion and action.” —2023 IEEE President Saifur Rahman
In the Developing Green Skills for Young Professionals session, he spoke about the need to train young engineers in developing countries on renewable energy and sustainable technologies. He pointed to the IEEE Young Professionals Climate and Sustainability Task Force, launched in 2023 to encourage the next generation to lead initiatives and develop potential solutions. An article published by The Institute discusses several of the task force’s recent activities.
The Intergenerational Dialog for Shaping Future Climate Landscapes session covered managing long-term atmospheric carbon dioxide, building a global climate risk network, and aligning carbon pricing globally.
Rahman again pointed to IEEE’s 30,000 young professionals from 190 countries. He encouraged the audience to utilize them to help spread the word about how technology can help address climate change.
International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin and 2023 IEEE President Saifur Rahman were panelists at a U.N. symposium discussing technologies that can help mitigate climate change. D. Woldu/ITU
“IEEE has a very strong climate change program,” he said. “We write papers, but we [also] want to make sure people on the ground benefit from our work. IEEE has sections in over 140 countries. They include engineers, IT professionals, and even businesspeople. I’m pleading with you to use us for the benefit of the local community.”
IEEE-ITU strategic opportunities
In Rahman’s opening remarks, he stressed a bottom-up approach to technology that supports top-down policy frameworks, ensuring that IEEE’s more than 486,000 members—he calls its human technologies—can contribute to solutions.
James E. Matthews III, president of the IEEE Standards Association, stressed that technical standards are the foundation for scalable climate solutions. He said the agility of organizations such as IEEE SA in developing guidelines for new technologies including artificial intelligence and green tech solutions has resulted in their rapid adoption.
In discussing how the role of intellectual property, especially patents, can help achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, IEEE Fellow Claudio Canizares called for a shift from isolated and proprietary work to more collaborative solutions. The electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada, explained how IEEE could play a crucial role.
Another topic of discussion was the need to educate and train people on implementing climate-resistant technologies. Sneha Satish Hegde, an IEEE member, highlighted how the IEEE Young Professionals Climate and Sustainability Task Force provides mentorship and training. Hegde, a scientific researcher, is the task force’s partnership lead. The task force held a panel session during last year’s Climate Week NYC, which ran from 22 to 29 September to coincide with the U.N. Summit of the Future. Climate-change experts from organizations and government agencies around the world highlighted the intersection of technology, policy, and citizen engagement.
How IEEE can assist
A summary of the IEEE-ITU symposium outlines ways IEEE can continue to take a lead role in climate resilience by expanding partnerships, standardizing solutions, strengthening the repository of data, promoting circular economies, advancing sustainable practices, and bridging the digital divide.
The summary concludes that by finding more partners, creating and strengthening standards, and fostering capacity-building, IEEE could catalyze systemic change, contributing to a more resilient future.
About The Author
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