A portrait of the different configurations between digitally-enabled innovations and climate governance

Abstract

Rapid societal transformations are required to keep global average temperature rise well below 2 °C by 2050. An increasingly diverse set of initiatives are leveraging digital technologies to transform society. Given the rapid pace at which these initiatives emerge and the accelerated rate of technological innovation, few connections are made as to their common approaches and motivations. To address this, we developed a database of such initiatives from around the world. We propose a categorization of four types of strategies: data mobilization, optimization of existing strategies, incentivizing and automating behavioural change, and enhancing participation and empowerment of individuals. We analyse connections between types of strategies through the lens of the Earth System Governance framework's original 5 A's – Architecture, Agency, Adaptiveness, Accountability, and Allocation & Access. This work provides a first step towards understanding how digitally-enabled initiatives are contributing to re-imagining climate governance.