Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1486069
5.12.19 12 OPINION 1.12.2022 Alexiei Dingli Prof Alexiei Dingli is a Professor of AI at the University of Malta and has been conducting research and working in the field of AI for more than two decades, assisting different companies to implement AI solutions. He forms part of the Malta.AI task-force, set up by the Maltese government, aimed at making Malta one of the top AI countries in the world Using Artificial Intelligence for Decarbonisation M any organisations are finally becoming car- bon emissions con- scious and want to lower their carbon footprint. Now is the perfect time for them to get started with Artificial Intel- ligence. Imagine a business whose operations are causing high carbon emissions. AI can help reduce many of these is- sues and save the company loads of money simultaneously. Carbon emissions are a glob- al problem that has contrib- uted to climate change and global warming. Different processes, such as human ac- tivity (burning fossil fuels) or natural ones, such as the de- composition of organic mat- ter, causes these emissions. We must understand where these emissions come from so we can make changes in our lives to help reduce them because, as we all know, what cannot be measured cannot be managed! I'm sure everyone has heard of climate change by now, but companies are finally dis- cussing decarbonisation. Es- sentially it's the process that reduces carbon emissions, which are produced by burn- ing fossil fuels like coal and oil. It is a global challenge as it will require a massive glob- al transformation. is tran- sition from fossil fuels to re- newable energy sources needs to happen within the next few decades if we want to limit global warming since most greenhouse gases in our at- mosphere are man-made. To accelerate this, towards the end of 2019, the EU an- nounced the Green Deal to transform the region into a "modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy". AI can help reduce the carbon footprint of any organisation to achieve the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals and save money on en- ergy costs in the process. Even though it is a rapidly growing technology, many business leaders don't know how to harness its power. e follow- ing are some ways in which AI can make a difference to any organisation: • AI systems can in- tegrate ESG data from dif- ferent systems into a unified view, thus giving companies real-time analytics on their ESG targets. When data is not available, Internet Of ings (IoT) sensors will be installed to augment the information available. • An AI system can continuously calculate and track ESG KPIs against real goals, thus informing com- panies as soon as something goes wrong. Such a system will allow them to take timely cor- rective actions, thus also sav- ing them real money. • Predictive analysis can help to alert relevant staff before things get out of hand when something goes wrong or an unexpected event, such as an industrial accident, oc- curs. • e system will pro- vide AI-driven recommenda- tions to improve performance on priority ESG issues. • ESG reporting will become a must. By central- ising compliance with major ESG documentation standards and frameworks, the company can automate most of its ESG reporting obligations. • Workflows, too, need to be reviewed and their ESG data collected. By automating processes using AI, the system will handle most of the report- ing overheads and provide managers with a fine level of granularity. • External informa- tion requests can be a massive headache, whether from cus- tomers, other businesses or government entities. AI can analyse and efficiently respond to external data requests, thus servicing most of them in no time and relaying complex ones to human operators. • AI can also preempt what will happen by analys- ing news, media, and priority stakeholder publications to identify emerging ESG risks and opportunities. • Data accuracy and integrity are essential compo- nents of any system. With end- to-end auditability, AI-driven data validation can guarantee that no one is tempering with the information provided. Such systems also allow for better staff management by au- tomating repetitive tasks free- ing up valuable time for man- agers who want more freedom in their working day rather than being chained down with administrative work. It offers a great way to reduce carbon emissions by calculat- ing how much energy build- ings, vehicles, etc., use and where it's being wasted. is data will then lead to changes that reduce the carbon foot- print. e urgency of decarboni- sation is growing every year. e United Nations Intergov- ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that if we don't take immediate action, global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030 and 2 degrees Celsius by 2040. e world's temperature has already increased by more than 1 degree celsius over pre-industrial levels and, in some places, even more than 3 degrees. Climate change is already happening around us: flooding, drought, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events are all examples of how our planet is being affected. Since carbon emissions are a significant issue facing the world right now, the sooner we can reduce these emis- sions, the better. AI will play a massive role in helping organ- isations reduce their carbon footprint, as well as other en- vironmental impacts. Using AI for environmental governance, we can ensure that all actions taken by businesses align with their sustainability goals and that they reach their ESG tar- gets in a timely manner. We do not have a planet B, so now is the right time to work together and use emerging technologies to save our home planet from inevitable catastrophes.