Nokia at COP28
Background
From the end of November through to mid-December 2024, world leaders convened in Dubai for the UN's annual climate change conference, also known as the ‘Conference of the Parties’ or ‘COP 28’ to seek ways to accelerate climate action. The aim of the COP process is for governments to agree on concrete steps to address climate change.
This came at a critical time. 2023 has seen extreme temperatures and extreme weather events, while the UN report for the first so-called global stocktake - an assessment of climate commitments so far - suggests the world is not on track to limit global warming sufficiently.
We believe that the business community has a key role to play in supporting and enabling climate action. The focus in Dubai was on a global stocktake – an assessment of whether the world is on track to meet key global climate goals. Other critical topics included finance, health, natural resources and infrastructure.
Nokia at COP28
At Nokia, we believe technologies from 5G to artificial intelligence (AI) can accelerate the green transition and help accelerate the journey to net zero across industries.
In the energy sector, it will support both renewables generation and grid transformation, allowing the sector to move faster with the green transition. Technologies such as digital twins and AI can also help hard-to-abate sectors find ways to accelerate sustainability efforts. Digital can help scale more sustainable business practices across all industries.
Digital solutions can also enable climate monitoring and early warning systems, supporting efforts to adapt to the effects of global warming that are already being felt.
We joined the Finland Pavilion to call for greater climate action
We are proud to have taken this message to COP28, where we joined Business Finland and other Finnish climate leaders in the first-ever Finland Pavilion.
We partnered with the ITU to support digitally-driven climate action
We also joined forces with the International Telecommunication Union and other partner organizations to support Green Digital Action – because together, our industry can go further in fighting the climate crisis.
Events
Digitalization will play a key role in enabling climate action. In the energy sector, it will support both renewables generation and grid transformation, allowing the sector to move faster with the green transition. Technologies such as digital twins and AI can also help hard-to-abate sectors find ways to accelerate sustainability efforts. Digitalization will play a key role in supporting all industries to decarbonize.
In this event, Nokia brought together representatives from key industries to debate industrial digitalization and decarbonization. The event also covered policy, regulatory and financing perspectives, debating what is needed to unleash the full enabling potential of digital.
Opening remarks
Ms Melissa Schoeb
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Nokia
Keynote speaker
Mr. Petteri Orpo
Prime Minister of Finland
Moderator
Mr Subho Mukherjee
VP Sustainability and Global Head of ESG, Nokia
Panel
Mr. Hatem Dowidar
Group CEO, e&
Mr. Heikki Malinen
CEO of Outokumpu
Mr. Sebastian Weber
Global CIO of E.ON
Mr. Guangzhe Chen
VP for Infrastructure, The World Bank
Ms. Araceli Fernandez Pales
Head of Technology Innovation Unit, International Energy Agency
Digital technologies such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twins can help accelerate climate action. They are essential to mitigation efforts by cutting emissions as well as adaptation efforts by helping to identify, monitor and address impacts of climate change already being felt. But as everything becomes connected, demand for data grows, and the underpinning digital infrastructures proliferate, digital emissions will grow unless the industry takes action to decouple data growth from emissions.
In this event, key figures from the digital sector outlined their joint ambition and commitments to decarbonize digital to accelerate the green transition. This event formed part of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Green Digital Action track at COP28.
Opening remarks
Mr Tomas Lamanauskas
Deputy Secretary-General of the ITU
Keynote speaker
Ms Melissa Schoeb
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Nokia
Moderator
Mr Subho Mukherjee
VP Sustainability and Global Head of ESG, Nokia
Panel
Mr Philippe Tuzzolino
VP Environment, Orange Group
Ms Maya Ormazabal Herrero
Director of Sustainability, Telefónica
Mr Jeroen Kanselaar
Chairman Sustainability Committee, FTTH Council Europe
Mr Seth Ayers
Global Lead for the Green Digital Business Line, World Bank
Digitalization will play a key role in enabling climate action – but it will also drive up demand for critical minerals and metals.
The World Bank estimates that the proliferation of clean energy technologies could lead to a nearly 500% increase in demand for minerals such as graphite, lithium, and cobalt by 2050. Many clean energy technologies depend on extensive digitalization, including 5G networks, which will lead to a further increase in demand for key resources.
In this event, Nokia and guest speakers unpacked why the demand for minerals and metals will increase; how digitalization can help industries advance circular practices, and how the digital industry can embrace circular concepts in its own value chain.
Opening remarks and moderation
Mr Subho Mukherjee
VP Sustainability and Global Head of ESG, Nokia
Keynote speaker
Prof. Kevin Chika Urama
Chief Economist and VP for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, African Development Bank
Panel
Mr. Ville Tavio
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Republic of Finland
Ms Valentine Cheruiyot
Lead Climate and Environmental Management, Safaricom plc.
Mr. Giulio Berruti
Director, Climate Change, BSR
Mr. Philippe Tuzzolino
VP Environment, Orange Group
Ms Petra Schwager
Chief, Climate and Technology Partnership Division, Director of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)