IBM, a giant in the information technology sector with nearly 450,000 employees around the world, has taken up the challenge to help China in their fight against air pollution and ease them through the transition to renewables.
Regardless of the numerous attempts that governmental officials in China made in order to tackle air pollution, nothing seems to be working. There were all sorts of suggestions, including the development of a smog-eating system, investments in the world’s largest smog-research facility, even people tried joking about the situation so that they can trigger some sort of a reaction. It is, of course, unreasonable to think that any measure can have an immediate effect, but it is now clear that any long term solution will have to come from an outside helper.
This is where the project “Green Horizon” initiated by IBM, one of world’s most profitable and successful companies in the ICT industry, jumps in. The aim of this 10-year initiative is to provide help and support to China in terms of managing air quality, energy consumption and renewable energy supplies.
The project was announced by IBM yesterday. Under this initiative, IBM scientists and engineers will develop a system that can measure levels of emissions over the city, and establish their type and source. The teams will be working in close collaboration with the municipal government of Beijing. In addition, the company is looking to develop a system that can monitor the energy consumption of the major industrial companies, and provide them with a suitable management strategy.
China is by far the biggest carbon dioxide emitter in the world, but they are also the ones, who have set the toughest to reach target on emissions. By 2020, the country is looking to cut 45% of the carbon emissions per economic output. The most obvious solution here would be to minimize energy use and to switch to renewables as soon as possible, and this is exactly what IBM is going to help them do.
Image (c) AFP/Getty Images
