DEAL
The Data for the Environment Alliance
Inger Andersen, UN Under Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director
"We need to accelerate the digital transformation. Because big
data and new tech can support real time monitoring of the
environment, help consumers adopt more sustainable behavior,
create sustainable value chains."
Yana Gevorgyan, Director of Group On Earth Observations
"If I were to make a plea to ministries around the world is to
recognize that the quality of information that we are able to
produce really relies on accessibility to data. So open data
is a vital element in this recipe of designing successful
solutions"
H.E. Thuraya AlHashimi, Executive Director UAE Federal Competitiveness & Statistics Center
"We position the earth observation and big data as a key
pillar in official statistics : planning and tracing progress.
Harnessing the opportunities offered by artificial
intelligence and remote sensing allows us to extract
meaningful information from the imaginary and combine it with
administrative data."
Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Director Space Climate Observatory
"As data becomes both increasingly available and more complex,
we urgently need to translate it into ready to use operational
tools. It is a matter of allowing governments, regional
organizations and local authorities to take action but also to
inform and empower citizens."
As the world marks 50 years of environmental multilateralism,
there is an urgent need to chart a more sustainable path to meet
environmental targets. For we are not on a path to meet any.
Changing the current trajectory requires more robust science-based
decision making, stronger accountability, greater transparency,
and inclusion.
Because ‘we cannot manage what we cannot measure’, it is essential
to create better access to reliable, real-time data on the state
of the planet to help articulate more clearly the impact of human
actions and drive science-based decision-making by Government,
industry and society at large.
The Data for the Environment Alliance (DEAL) is a
Member-State led global cooperation initiative initiated by the
Government of Estonia and partner representing 34 countries. It is
facilitated and supported by the UNEP Science-Policy-Business
Forum (SPBF).
Deal launch event
UN SPBF 3rd Global Session - Opening and Big Data Session
Big data Big Deal
ABOUT
In 2018, the UNEP Science-Policy-Business Forum —working with the
UNEA 3 Estonian Presidency, Bureau Members and technical partners
across government, UN agencies, space agencies and the private
sector — created a High Level Working Group on Big Data and
Technology for the Planet, which made the case for the need to
strengthen and align global efforts to develop an integrated,
UN-led strategy and global platform to manage and share authentic
and valid environmental data for decision making to set society on
a more sustainable path.
In March 2019, lead by its Estonia Presidency and partner Member
States, the UN Environment Assembly unanimously passed a
Ministerial Declaration that mandated UNEP to develop a Big Data
Strategy on the Environment. The UNEP@50 Ministerial Declaration
reiterated the need for more robust data for the planet. Estonia
wants to take the experience we have gained by adopting a
data-driven government and new digital technologies and share it
with and through DEAL. And we want all of you to add to this with
your valuable experience and ideas.
