Climate, cities and missing data

We know that cities will face disastrous climate shocks in the coming years; yet, most urban residents are only vaguely aware of the risks. One reason is that mayors, officials and city councils often struggle to gather or analyze the right kind of information. Addressing this “data gap” therefore becomes one of the key challenges for the future of the ecological transition.

There are several positive signs that we can catch. More and more local governments are implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies, with more than 11,000 cities around the world having signed up to a global pact to tackle climate change and manage the clean energy transition. Yet despite this, virtually no one has the basic tools to measure progress. Worse still, over 40% of cities (home to around 400 million people) still lack a meaningful climate change adaptation strategy. And this share is even lower in Africa and Asia, where it is estimated that 90% of all future urbanization will take place over the next thirty years. However, strategies alone are not enough: it is necessary to increase data-driven monitoring platforms.

Powered by satellites and sensors, these systems can track temperatures inside and outside buildings, alert city dwellers to air quality issues, and provide high-resolution information on concentrations of fine particles and gases specific greenhouses (carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide).

Technology companies are the first movers in this market. For example, Google has launched a tool called Environmental Insights Explorer that aggregates data on building and transportation-related emissions, air quality, and solar potential for municipal authorities. And many international projects like Climate Watch, Project AirView, Project Sunroof and the Surface Particulate Matter Network are providing city analysts with historical data, monitoring car pollution and methane leaks, and even helping individual users determine the solar energy potential of their homes.

But it is worth remembering that many private sector initiatives related to climate data have been built on the basis of large publicly funded programs. The best-known source of climate data is NASA, which uses satellite data and weather and chemical dispersion models to track emissions and predict the movement of pollutants. And some forward-thinking cities have already begun working with smaller data providers like PlumeLabs, which collects air quality data through locally deployed sensors.

Building a harmonious ecosystem of climate data will require an accessible platform that can consolidate disparate metrics. Data will also need to be streamlined and standardised, to improve monitoring of inputs, outputs, results and impacts. Better data management will improve decision-making and empower citizens, potentially fostering collaboration, if not even healthy competition between cities.

There are, however, some risks in consolidating and standardizing climate data for cities. When global technology companies flood the market, they can hold back local innovation in data collection and analysis. Similarly, when climate data is more centralized, political and corporate interests may be more inclined to skew it in their favor through lobbying and other means. It therefore falls to policy makers to ensure that all potentially sensitive data is kept private and secure and that the datasets and algorithms they feed avoid reproducing structural bias or other types of discrimination.

Copyright Project Syndicate