Today, IBM and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched new interactive energy models within UNDP's global GeoHub platform. These solutions use technologies such as the IBM watsonx AI and data platform to enable users - from national and community-level policymakers to the general public - to analyze complex energy issues using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology and access a wide range of resources, helping to support data-driven decision-making toward a just energy transition.
"Bringing together UNDP's global knowledge and leadership in sustainable development along with IBM and its expertise in AI and hybrid cloud, we are proud to be able to present solutions that demonstrate the power of technology to make a lasting, positive impact on our environment and our communities," said Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM Vice President and Chief Impact Officer. "By making the new models freely available to the public, we aim to empower leaders, organizations, and community members by equipping them with the knowledge they need to make energy decisions that have an impact around the world."
As part of UNDP's Data Futures Exchange (DFx), GeoHub is a centralized ecosystem of geospatial data and services. It provides a platform to easily load, visualize, and analyze datasets, combining geographic data and orienting it with satellite imagery. GeoHub enables a detailed, localized, evidence-based approach to address development challenges and integrate policies, from determining the subnational distribution of electricity access to assessing levels of vulnerability to the effects of climate change in communities over time.
"UNDP's innovative collaboration with IBM helps countries leverage development data and technological innovation, leading to better lives for all and protecting the planet. The solutions we have jointly created provide a credible evidence base to help countries make meaningful and practical progress toward a just energy transition. Investing in net-zero emissions and people-centered development strategies are critical to accelerating the SDGs," said Laurel Patterson, Head of the UNDP SDG Integration Team, UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.
UNDP and IBM have been working together for two years through the IBM Sustainability Accelerator program. This project began with a collaborative engagement through the IBM Garage. It resulted in the enhancement of the UNDP GeoHub with two innovative models: the Electricity Access Forecasting AI model and the Clean Energy Equity Index statistical geospatial model.
- The Electricity Access Forecast AI model uses the IBM watsonx AI and data platform, IBM Cloud, and an open source machine learning library that provides large-scale future forecasts of electricity access through 2030. It evaluates a set of factors, including population, infrastructure, urbanization, elevation, satellite data, and land use data provided by IBM Environmental Intelligence. By considering these factors to make a future forecast, the Electricity Access Forecast model offers a distinct advantage over the most commonly available current estimates of electricity access. The model will feature data from 102 countries across the Global South, including Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East.
- The Clean Energy Equity Index, developed by IBM and UNDP together with Stony Brook University, is a first-of-its-kind statistical geospatial model that combines geospatial analysis with environmental, economic, and social factors - such as education, greenhouse gas emissions and relative wealth - to generate a Clean Energy Equity score from 0 to 1. This score reflects both the opportunities for clean energy development and its urgency from an equity and just transition standpoint. In this dashboard, GeoHub users can also view and individually customize each environmental, economic, or social factor analyzed in the model to assess which factors impact equitable access to clean energy, empowering better decision-making. The model will provide data from 53 African countries.
Historically, advanced models of this type have not always been freely available and applicable to all users. Together, IBM and UNDP set out to co-create solutions that strengthen open public access to complex clean energy and advanced technology information while providing essential energy resources for policymakers, governments, journalists, and decision-makers.
