Climate Change and Technology: It's time to face facts.

Greta Thunberg is the 16 year old activist from Sweden who inspired students around the world to go on strike from school to raise awareness of climate change.

There are those who agree with those methods. There are those who disagree.

But, at the heart of Greta’s message to MPs during a recent Westminster visit was a statement of the obvious that really struck me: “We just want people to listen to the science.”

She, rightly, pointed out it is not a matter of opinion whether a heart pumps blood around a human body. It’s just a fact. In the same vein (pun intended), she says it’s time to stop listening to opinions about climate change, what matters is listening to the facts.

Here in Jersey, this month, politicians have been debating climate change and considering what actions the Government should be taking.

For all those reasons and the ongoing Extinction Rebellion protests in London, in Jersey and elsewhere, I thought it timely to state that Digital Jersey stands ready to play its part.

We love technology. We love data. And good data leads to good decision-making.

One such project we are developing is a hyper-local air quality platform, utilising IoT sensor readings which can be blended with existing Government-run air quality measurements, alongside other air quality data from any and all citizens who wanted to get involved.

It will provide real-time data on air quality hotspots. It could feed into future road layout modelling. Could phasing traffic, or altering routes improve our health? Indeed, could the existence of this data in a user-friendly format help change our habits for the better?

Creating such a project may lead to innovation. It could create a rich source of data that could be used by other products and services that we’ve not even thought of. We may learn things that could help other nations around the world.

Yes, I am getting ahead of myself, but I want to remind everybody that this island is a ready-made testbed. We have the talents and skills across the digital sector and beyond to be part of the answer to the many problems facing the planet.

Greta Thunberg wants the world to focus on the science. To focus on the facts. Digital Jersey stands ready to help.