By Mahesh Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer for Oceania, Fujitsu
From devastating bushfires to the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, climate change continues to reshape Australia’s biodiverse ecosystem.
Globally, we have seen average temperatures rise by more than 1 degree since pre-industrial levels with most of the increase occurring in the past 50 years.
The escalating impacts demand urgent attention, and more importantly, action. And increasingly, the world is turning to technology for solutions.
Despite the growing efforts to combat climate change, traditional methods often fall short in addressing the complexity and scale of the problem. This gap highlights the need for more innovative and effective approaches.
As AI adoption and innovation accelerate, this technology emerges as a powerful tool to combat climate change. From revolutionising conservation to improving emergency response, AI offers unprecedented opportunities to address environmental challenges. By harnessing the capabilities of AI, we can also develop more precise and scalable solutions to tackle the complex challenges posed by climate change.
Time is running out. Are we fully embracing this technology to change the course of our planet?
AI: A key tool to accelerate sustainability transformation
AI’s impact extends beyond personal use; it’s rapidly becoming a key topic in boardroom discussions to manage and improve sustainability efforts.
Fujitsu’s recent sustainability transformation survey revealed that 76% of organisations ranked AI among the top 5 priorities in their digital transformation journeys. And 63% of business leaders believe that strengthening the use of AI will contribute to the success of sustainability transformation.
As a technology leader, Fujitsu has been an early adopter of AI solutions to creatively combat the effects of climate change and preserve our ecosystem.
Real-life examples of how AI can help fight against climate change
- Predicting climate disasters
Tsunami inundation forecasting to improve disaster preparedness
Fujitsu, partnering with disaster management and academic experts in Japan, has developed an AI-powered tsunami inundation forecasting solution. This innovative system uses pre-trained AI on vast simulations to rapidly predict tsunami waveforms based on real-time observation data. This solution can help empower communities at risk with faster, more detailed forecasts, significantly enhancing disaster preparedness and response.
- Protecting our endangered species and biodiversity
a) ‘Digital Owl’ project
Partnering with the NSW Government’s ‘Saving our Species’ program, Fujitsu’s ’Digital Owl’ project combines high-performance computing, drone technology, and video analytics to quickly locate endangered species and invasive plants across vast areas. Delivering better data faster, cheaper, and with a smaller carbon footprint, Digital Owl empowers conservationists to effectively protect precious biodiversity threatened by climate change.
b) ‘Ocean digital twins’ pilot project
Fujitsu is working on a field trial near Ishigaki Island, Okinawa prefecture in Japan to develop an ocean digital twin for marine conservation. Combining LiDAR* and AI technology, the pilot project will gather precise 3D data for mapping coral reefs. This will help researchers gain deeper insights into how the ocean is changing and simulate the possible effects of our conservation measures.
- Smart energy consumption
Fujitsu has been working with a New Zealand based manufacturer to reduce costs and carbon emissions of their productions processes through more efficient boiler control. Details of current performance and future scheduled jobs are fed into an AI-powered model, which optimises the output from a boiler to match the requirements of the jobs being processed.
A strategic approach to minimise AI’s carbon footprint
While AI holds immense potential for combating climate change, its development and deployment can also contribute to climate change.
Based on this, business leaders need to take a balanced and strategic approach when leveraging AI for sustainability outcomes.
Organisations can harness AI’s power for good while mitigating its own carbon footprint by integrating these sustainable approaches:
- Emission benefit analysis to check if the positive effect of the technology outweighs the energy consumption
- Adopt energy efficient AI models
- Measure and report on sustainability impacts
From reducing emissions to mitigating environmental impact, AI plays a crucial role in tackling climate change.
Contact us to lead how Fujitsu can help your organisation improve efficiency and achieve your sustainability goals with AI-powered solutions: dataandai@fujitsu.com
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