Civic engagement  AI & Climate 

In Estonia, the highest contributors to net GHG emissions are : 

• the energy sector (50% of total emissions), 

• the land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector (17%), 

• the transport and agriculture sectors (around 13% each)

Addressing emissions in these sectors will require an innovative blend of policies. AI presents a promising frontier in this context, offering the potential to enhance monitoring, optimize resource use, and inform policy-making through accurate forecasting. 

Estonia's National AI Plan provides a solid first step, it, however, lacks alignment with national and European goals for a green transition, as it fails to recognize the enormous potential of AI for climate change management (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications 2021).

Our policy paper, therefore, proposes a strategic approach to integrating artificial intelligence (AI) as a key tool in Estonia’s fight against climate change and leveraging AI as a powerful enabler of sustainable development across four priority sectors: agriculture, buildings, energy, and biodiversity. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

AGRICULTURE

• Provide comprehensive AI Integration Support for Sustainable Farming in a bottom up approach by offering subsidies for AI tools, upskilling training to farmers and conditioning, and a dedicated rewarding subsidy for farmers for adopting sustainable agriculture practices.

• Design a user-friendly data platform classifying AI-powered Sentinel and Landsat imagery data on crop types, crop health, soil health, and water bodies in order to encourage farmers to adopt precision farming techniques.

BUILDINGS

• Push for AI-powered systems to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings through smart HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems) and smart maintenance.

• Encourage AI-based construction industry solutions via the establishment of an AI Innovation Hub for Construction.

ENERGY

• Develop a nationally integrated AI-powered management system as a platform to report environmental data and track climate progress for informed policy-making.

• Use AI to optimize energy grid systems to control renewable energy usage and forecast energy demand in different sectors for efficient distribution.

BIODIVERSITY

• Promote the use of AI for monitoring and protecting habitats and species, including measuring the population and presence of species, carbon sequestration, and minimizing the impact of threats.

• Incentivize the use of AI to create tailored management plans that halt and reverse biodiversity loss. This includes developing habitat restoration and species conservation strategies, designing wildlife corridors, and estimating and mitigating the impact of land use and land artificialization.

READ OUR POLICY PAPER