Future Shocks: Helsinki Roundtable

Global temperatures soared in 2023, making it the warmest year on record according to the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service.

To address climate change and other disruptions, IBM launched a Future Shocks initiative, including roundtable discussions in Europe and North America.

Senior Partner and Global <br> Government Leader IBM Consulting

In November 2023, IBM and the American Chamber of Commerce in Finland held a roundtable in Helsinki to share insights on climate change and sustainability.

Prioritizing action on sustainability

Reflecting on the stakes involved with climate change, roundtable participants posed the question:

Taking the next steps is a major challenge because sustainability is often crowded out by other priorities.

Adapting to climate change

Participants noted that some of the toughest questions are coming from the younger generation:

The alarm bells are not yet ringing for us individually.

Improving public and private sector cooperation

Governments play a key role in sustainability but need to break down silos to integrate action for sustainability.

Using data to drive innovation

Participants noted that governments already collect vast amounts of data.

Governments can enable these efforts by applying essential data governance, unified standards, and frameworks.

Download the Helsinki Future Shocks roundtable report

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Report

<p>Global temperatures soared to exceptionally high levels in 2023, making it the warmest year on record, according to the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service. As global warming contributes to extreme weather, rising sea levels, droughts, wildfires, and other events, governments around the world are seeking ways protect citizens from the effects of climate change.</p><p>To address climate change, pandemics, geopolitical conflict, and other far-reaching disruptions,&nbsp;IBM launched a multi-year Future Shocks initiative, including a series of roundtable discussions in Europe and North America. These meetings bring together representatives and experts from governments, business, academia, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to identify and reinforce the capacities societies need to thrive.</p><p>In November 2023, IBM and the American Chamber of Commerce in Finland convened a roundtable event in Helsinki to share insights on climate change and sustainability. Finland has considerable expertise in these areas, and roundtable participants discussed a wide range of priorities and options for driving a digital and green agenda.</p><blockquote><p>“For the third time in a row, Finland ranked first in the UN Sustainable Development Index in 2023. The Finnish government also set the ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2035—a full 15 years before most other European countries and the EU as an entity.”</p><p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:&quot;IBM Plex Sans&quot;,sans-serif;"><strong>Cristina Caballe Fuguet, senior partner and vice president, IBM Consulting</strong></span></span></p></blockquote><h3>Prioritizing action on sustainability</h3><p>Reflecting on the stakes involved with climate change, roundtable participants posed the question: How many more deaths are we willing to accept because of the climate crisis and because we are not acting fast enough? Participants also agreed that business and the private sector share a crucial role in pushing decision makers forward.</p><p>Taking the next steps is a major challenge because sustainability is often crowded out by other priorities. Governments struggle to make the value case for sustainability investments because sustainability investments typically take longer to break even than the payback period required for most investment decisions.</p><p>However, participants pointed to reasons to be optimistic about achieving ambitious climate goals, citing the example of renewable energy development moving forward much faster than targets set by governments.</p><blockquote><p>Some estimates predict that, in coming decades, Europe will experience 90,000 fatalities per year related to climate-change impacts.</p></blockquote><h3>Adapting to climate change</h3><p>Participants noted that some of the toughest questions are coming from the younger generation: If we can’t reduce emissions fast enough, maybe we need to think about what else we can do? More research is needed into innovations that can help people adapt to climate change.</p><p>For example, people often think of global warming in terms of its impact on other species, such as polar bears struggling with the loss of sea ice. Participants observed: We don’t yet associate climate change with human survival issues. The alarm bells are not yet ringing for us individually.</p><h3>Improving public and private sector cooperation</h3><p>Governments play a key role in sustainability and resilience but need to break down inter-departmental silos to integrate action for a sustainable transition. Ecosystem partner engagement is crucial to tap expertise at every level.</p><p>Governments can also launch campaigns to engage citizens and stakeholders in making a difference, such as the One Degree program in Finland. However, participants concurred that each country needs find solutions that are tied to the unique culture and values of each society.</p><blockquote><p>73% of organizations say their sustainability efforts are held back by large amounts of data that require manual processing.</p></blockquote><h3>Using data to drive innovation</h3><p>Participants noted that governments already collect vast amounts of data. The challenge is converting information into actionable insights. As a first step, governments can integrate data that already exists to apply AI and other technologies when developing insights and options for improvement. Governments can enable these efforts by applying essential data governance, unified standards, and frameworks. In fact, government entities could curate sustainability data and use it to drive collaborative innovation and action.</p><p>Download the Helsinki Future Shocks roundtable report to learn how government and business leaders in Finland are thinking about and preparing for resilience and sustainability in an age of global warming and uncertainty.</p>

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Learn how government and business leaders in Helsinki see cooperation, data integration, and sustainability as keys to building climate resilience.

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Future Shocks: Insights from Helsinki Roundtable Discussion