3 minute read
THE STORM AHEAD
The Fourth Industrial Revolution gives us an opportunity to to use technology to transform traditional sectors and systems to address climate change
A PARTICULARLY damning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, released in August, presented a grim prognosis for the planet.
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We find ourselves in a situation where climate change has already done irreversible damage to the planet. In response to the report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said this was nothing less than “a code red for humanity... the alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable”.
The flooding in parts of Germany and in New York around the release of the report, coupled with wildfires and unprecedented temperatures across the world, have certainly been a tangible and visceral indication of this.
This research emerges as we enter a new era – the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Not only do we have more access to information than ever before, but we also see a confluence of cyber, physical and biological technologies which no longer exist only in labs but impact us every day. Our attention cannot just be on embracing the 4IR if we are not also scrutinising sustainability issues. How do we harness 4IR technologies so that development is not dependent on exhausting finite resources and increasing emissions?
BY PROFESSOR TSHILIDZI MARWALA, vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg. He is the author of books such as Closing the Gap: The Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa and Leading in the 21st Century.
Science and innovation can facilitate development, mainly when our global challenges include water shortages, food insecurity and deep inequities. Here, we have a unique opportunity to leverage technology to help transform traditional sectors and systems to address climate change; deliver food and water security; build sustainable cities and protect biodiversity and human well-being. New and cleaner technologies in transport, communication, power generation, agriculture and manufacturing must be developed and shared widely to mitigate the effects of climate change.
For instance, artificial intelligence (AI) has been used by crop researchers to breed plants for the changing climate. Using AI techniques, the breeders can rapidly assess which plants grow the fastest in a particular climate or how to produce an optimum combination of genes, given the context.
It has been encouraging to see formidable developments emerge from within the African continent, particularly as climate scientists have long warned it will be hardest hit by climate change.
In South Africa, Airlitix is using AI and machinelearning software in drones to automate greenhouse management processes.
It has the capacity to collect temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide data, as well as analyse soil quality and crop health.
In Kenya, The Third Eye project uses RGB and nearinfrared cameras mounted on drones to survey and diagnose plants for pests and diseases; water stress and nutrient deficiencies.
Elsewhere, the use of cleaner power sources, such as renewable energy and smart grids can be adopted. In Morocco, the world’s largest concentrated solar facility has been created to help attain the country’s objective of 52% renewable energy by 2030. AI-enabled electric cars and shared transport could have a similar impact.
Though the term “industrial revolution” has historically been synonymous with environmental damage, we are poised with a unique opportunity to subvert this narrative by harnessing technology to create a green economy. As Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum, poignantly asks, “How well we can harness new technologies in order so they can serve and not harm humanity?”
PICTURE JOSH WITHERS / UNSPLASH
