November brought news on humanity’s most pressing issue: the sustainability of the planet. All of this is thanks to three international events that mobilized hundreds of thousands of people.
The first of these is the UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, taking place in Sharm elSheikh, Egypt I’ve talked more about it here. Held annually, the COPs are the largest and most important climaterelated event on the entire planet.
This is the premier forum for monitoring the Paris Agreement signed by 197 nations and also for agreeing on the necessary actions to implement this important document, which aims to prevent a seemingly imminent climate catastrophe.
Holding COP27 in a country on the African continent where the effects of climate change will be felt more is absolutely symbolic.
Highly sensitive and controversial issues need to be discussed with their inherent seriousness. These include the need for funding for damage and the overarching goal of adaptation.
In addition, the launch of the V20 was fundamental: the group of 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change. There is no question: climate justice must be the leitmotif of the entire event.
The second was WebSummit, the world’s largest innovation and technology event, which brought together more than 70,000 people between November 2nd and 4th in the city of Lisbon, Portugal.
I had the opportunity to follow the conference program and was amazed at the advancement of the innovation and technology agenda, especially spearheaded by the 2,600 startups from different countries presenting at the event.
But in reality, it was really surprising to realize that the topic of sustainability was present in an unprecedented way at the event, with hundreds of experts and dozens of panels discussing the role of technology and innovation in saving the world from climate catastrophe.
And finally the GovTech Summit, held in The Hague, The Netherlands, which brought together experts, public managers and enthusiasts of the Govtech agenda, i.e. the collaboration between startups and the public sector, especially in developing solutions for sustainability.
This year’s gathering was even more special as BrazilLAB received The GovTech Awards 2022 award in the Excellence in Supporting Innovation category, for which 64 entries were received from companies from 17 different countries.
Thousands of people gathered at three major events to discuss ways to save humanity from climate catastrophe.
I have many reasons to celebrate the role of innovation and technology in this debate. The realization that digital solutions are the most important lever that could save us from a catastrophe is absolutely encouraging.
However, as a pragmatic optimist, I stress that the time has passed when we move beyond promises and effective implementation of change.
We are aware of the problem, we have all the resources to address it and we are running out of time. May we be alert to this emergency and know how to demand effective action from our leaders.