Leveraging digital technologies to address environmental and climate challenges offers a dual opportunity: closing the digital divide while advancing sustainability. However, climate risks like floods, heatwaves, and storms increasingly threaten digital infrastructure, disrupting critical services such as communications, energy grids, and financial systems.
The World Bank supports countries in embedding resilience into digital policies and investments –ensuring infrastructure withstands shocks, maintains connectivity during crises, and safeguards vulnerable communities. The digital sector’s energy demands underscore the need for green alignment.
As data centers and networks expand, the Bank promotes energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy integration to decarbonize digital sector growth. Initiatives include optimizing server efficiency, adopting solar/wind-powered infrastructure, and implementing circular economy strategies to manage e-waste from obsolete devices. These measures reduce the sector’s carbon footprint while ensuring reliable, affordable connectivity.
Digital tools are pivotal in accelerating climate actions. The Bank enables governments to harness digital technologies and geospatial data for real-time disaster response, precision agriculture, and natural resource monitoring. By bridging the green-digital nexus, countries can build adaptive economies where technology drives both inclusion and resilience.