Changing the Weather: Finding Meaningful Climate Solutions Through Technology

We're delighted to welcome Sylvia Downing, Chief Technology Officer at Azimuth AI, to GTSW.

Sylvia's talk forms part of the Bristol Digital Futures Institute Summer School on Ecocentric AI. The session explores how technologists and engineers can contribute meaningfully to addressing climate change, even when they are not experts in environmental policy, energy systems, or infrastructure.

About the Talk

For many people working in technology, climate change feels like one of the most important challenges of our time. Yet it can be difficult to know whether individual efforts are genuinely making a positive impact.

How can we step back, understand the bigger picture, and identify meaningful opportunities to create change using the skills we already have? How do we work effectively within the governmental, economic, and industrial systems that shape the world around us?

Fortunately, publicly available data helps point the way. According to findings highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the power and transportation sectors account for approximately half of global greenhouse gas emissions. In response, governments and industries around the world are investing in programmes focused on infrastructure, efficiency, and decarbonisation.

But where does that leave those of us who are not specialists in these sectors?

Drawing on her own experiences, Sylvia will share one engineer's journey to help tackle climate change. Through a combination of technical expertise, collaboration, persistence, and a willingness to listen and learn, she will describe how she identified problems worth solving and opportunities to contribute to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Themes

• Finding meaningful ways to contribute to climate action through technology
• Understanding where the greatest opportunities for impact exist
• Working across disciplines and building effective partnerships
• Using data and evidence to identify high-value problems to solve
• Applying technical skills to support decarbonisation efforts

The session aims to inspire attendees to think differently about their own skills, experiences, and potential contributions to creating a more sustainable future.