12 September 2024, 15.00-16.00

Big Data and Global Environmental Crisis: Opportunities, Risks, and Unknowns

A session with Dr. Rose Pritchard from the University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute, as she examines the role of big data in addressing global environmental crises.
Through case studies, she will explore how digital advancements are reshaping biodiversity conservation and the documentation of climate-related loss and damage.

The potential and limitations of big data-driven approaches in addressing environmental challenges.
Social, political, and ecological implications of using advanced data technologies.
Ethical considerations and the need for safeguards in the use of powerful data-driven tools.

Dr. Rose Pritchard
Presidential Fellow in Socio-Environmental Systems, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
Full bio

Advances in digital technologies have led to an abundance of data, along with new ways to process, communicate, and store this information. However, ensuring that these tools contribute to the most effective and fair responses to environmental challenges requires a deeper engagement with the social, political, and ecological systems in which this data is used.
In this webinar, Dr. Rose Pritchard will explore how big data can be harnessed to address global environmental crises through two case studies. The first examines how satellite remote sensing data is transforming biodiversity conservation practices worldwide. The second discusses a current collaboration that assesses the social risks and rewards of using large-language models to document loss and damage from climate extremes.
These examples highlight both the potential of data-driven approaches in an era of rapid environmental change and the necessary safeguards that must be implemented as these tools become increasingly powerful.