Information and Communication Technology for the Planet

Information and communication technology (ICT) for the planet can help build sustainable cities and communities, ensure responsible consumption, fortify climate action, conserve and sustainably use life below water, and protect and manage life on land.

The challenges of the 21st century are daunting even as the agenda of the Millennium Development Goals remains unfinished. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted on 25-27 September 2015 by the 193-member United Nations General Assembly, aim for change at the level of the planet, a veritable seismic shift.

ICT has transformed the financial services, media, retail, and telecommunications sectors; through the globalization it simultaneously feeds on and accelerates, it is now reshaping societies, economies, and governments worldwide. Properly deployed, directed, and extended, ICT can be a tool for common good and accelerate action on the global goals.

SDGs 11–15 see to the planet: they mean to help build sustainable cities and communities, ensure responsible consumption, fortify climate action, conserve and sustainably use life below water, and protect and manage life on land. Athwart all related actions, ICT can quicken upscaling; cut deployment costs; augment awareness, inclusiveness, and engagement; stimulate connectivity, productivity, efficiency, and innovation; and raise quality.