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Digital Communities
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Govt CIOs Get A New ICT Tool to Address Climate Change Issues.
June 4, 2010 By Indrajit Basu
Ask any expert from industry or government: "What is the greatest threat facing our future society and economy?" and the answer is very likely to be global warming. Ask them what they are doing about it, and more often than not, you will draw a blank.
Although both governments and industry, say experts, are collectively responsible for addressing the need for climate protection, precious time is being lost. Countries, their governments, and even businesses are hesitant when it comes to seriously addressing the problems of climate change.
The reasons could be many. Some say the foremost being that most stakeholders are unable to reach consensus on what should be their respective responsibilities.
But, according to insurance giant Allianz SE, and World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), there is another reason why climate protection efforts remain largely in a state of limbo. Although some are aware of a need to address the environment, most, including many in government, are unaware of what needs to be done to address those issues.
According to Allianz and WWF, this seems to be a bigger hurdle for climate protection efforts than the absence of a general consensus. And, alarmed by the fact that the window of opportunity for ambitious greenhouse gas reduction is closing fast -- the world has to act by 2020 to limit global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F) by 2050 -- these two groups are trying to speed up the process by raising global awareness. They have created a Web-based game that not only throws light on the nuances of climate change issues, it also helps its players craft appropriate strategies to address these issues.
Called CEO2 (available at www.ceo2-game.com), the game is more of a simulation program that puts a player in the role of a decision maker, say its creators. Eric Mahleb, of LGM Interactive -- the Berlin-based agency that specializes in green digital communications, which has designed this game -- says it "enables a player to learn and understand the complex dynamics and play of the climate protection issues."
A significant feature of this game is that it does not just preach. Players can gather hands-on experience as well. For instance a player can slip into the role of a CEO and show which business strategy will reduce carbon, reduce risks and be most profitable.
The game also allows the player to identify which investment at what time will set the course for a profitable growth in the low-carbon economy of the future. "This simulation helps a player to understand what the real issues are with regard to the industries it covers, as well as to get an idea of what needs to be addressed while formulating environmental policies," says Mahleb.
CEO2 covers four industries: chemical, automobile, utility and finance. This is because these are expected to impact the environment going forward 20 years. Others will be added soon, says Mahleb.
Nevertheless although the simulation was designed keeping industry in mind, Mehleb says that the government sector, including local government "can extract enough valuable information that would help address the local environmental issues as well."
"Like the industry, the government can play a significant role in protecting the climate and we hope that CEO2 will help the governments understand the dynamics and complexities of the world we live in, and the complexities they have to face to address the environment," he says.
Launched on May 27, CEO2 has come at a time when representatives from 182 nations, have started preparing for the second round of the United Nations Climate Change Talks for 2010 summit to be held 2-6 August in Bonn, Germany . Here world leaders are expected to pick up on issues that were not resolved in the Copenhagen meeting last December,and to pave the way for the full implementation of climate change action across the globe.
The main topic of discussion will be the contentious issue of who (countries, governments, communities and industries) -- is responsible for greenhouse gas emission reduction and to what extent they must engage to limit the temperature rise below two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels and avoid dangerous consequences of climate change.
Technology may the one of the greatest enablers of good things in life, but even until recently, it was mainly a phenomenon that benefited the more resourceful section of the world. That's changing though. Thanks to its constant evolution in the last few years, technology, particularly digital technologies, have ceased to be the privilege of a select few. From a hungry child in Niger, to the downtrodden lavatory cleaner in India, to the lonely billionaire widower living in a swanky Manhattan apartment, digital technologies are radically changing the lives of all these days.
As an international correspondent for Digital Communities, I have covered the power that ICT wields, particularly over the inhabitants of the developing world. But often a 1200-word feature does not bring forth the magic of ICT fast enough. My endeavor in this space would be to do just that; highlight some notable ICT-related developments as fast as I can.
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Good day to you, That's a fascinating post. My name's Jeremy Stersky - I'm a fellow blogger. Might I suggest something? I'd like to write a free post for you as a guest blogger. I believe that I can contribute an interesting blog post tying in the concepts of climate change and the environment with a game like bingo. Believe it or not, bingo is a tool used by many academics and teachers to inculcate students with a powerful method of learning more and becoming more engaged with content that is otherwise simply too academic for them. Bingo brings these elements up close and personal and does so in a way that is engaging and community oriented. Please contact me as soon as you can so that we can set something up. Kind regards, Jeremy Stersky