TACKLING HARMS OF DIGITAL TECH ON ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE IN INDIA
‘Balancing Digital Rights & Environmental Sustainability through Digital Circular Economy’
Date: 09 & 10 DECEMBER, 2023
Venue: MJCET, Banjara Hills – Hyderabad, Telangana
The National Workshop on ‘Tackling harms of digital tech on environment and climate’ is an important event aimed at addressing the intricate relationship between digital technology, environmental sustainability, and human rights. In today’s interconnected world, digital technology plays a pivotal role in almost every aspect of our lives, but it also presents challenges in terms of its impact on the environment. This workshop is dedicated to prioritise issues, challenges, needs and to finding innovative solutions that can help strike a balance between fulfilling our digital needs and rights while upholding environmental rights and justice.
The rapid advancement of digital technologies has revolutionized our world, providing unprecedented access to information, communication, and services. However, this progress has come at a cost. The environmental and social harms associated with digital tech are becoming increasingly apparent, posing a significant challenge to balancing digital needs and rights with environmental rights and justice. One of the most pressing concerns is the issue of e-waste. E-waste is the fastest growing solid waste stream in the world, with an estimated 53.6 million tonnes generated in 2019. Only a small fraction of this e-waste is recycled properly, with the majority being disposed of in ways that are harmful to human health and the environment.
This workshop is a step towards enabling a sustainable digital environmental ecosystem that deals with adverse climate change impacts due to rising digital society adoption, digitisation of our society and economy, and its acceleration. While these issues and challenges are mounting up, the government did come out with the first draft policy on ‘Digital Circular Economy for Electronics and Electrical Wastes’ in 2021, to address these issues as well as look at opportunities in this, including mining the e-wastes for precious minerals and materials as secondary raw materials for digital device manufacturing and others.
This workshop will serve as a platform for introducing concepts, issues, priorities, strategies, initiatives in tackling digital harm on environment and climate change at various levels and and through approaches, including adoption, implementation and promotion of circular economy principles in the digital device space.
It is expected that this workshop shall be a unique opportunity for environmental and climate-based organizations in India to come together and learn, share, exchange and develop capacities, knowledge and experiences on some of the most important aspects of digital and environmental sustainability in India:
- The environmental and climate impacts of digital technologies and digitisation
- Policy and regulatory frameworks for addressing these impacts
- Best practices for reducing the adverse environmental footprint of digital technologies
- The role of stakeholders, including governments, businesses, and civil society, in addressing the harms of digital tech on the environment and climate
- Engaging and Building response, resilience and capacities of local communities for better response to digital environment rights and justice challenges.
The workshop will involve discussions, knowledge sharing, and collaborative efforts to address the environmental and climatic challenges posed by the digital sphere. We believe that your NGO’s participation with valuable insights and experiences would be a valuable addition to the workshop cum discussions.
It will also provide opportunities for networking and collaboration with like-minded individuals, organisations, and experts who share a common vision for enabling digital environmental sustainability in the country, for both digital empowerment and climate change mitigation due to tech impacts.
If you wish to participate, please reach us at info@defindia.org