In a recent global IBM survey of more than 3,000 developers, first responders, and social activists, 79% of respondents agree that climate change is something that can be reduced or combated with technology.
Answer this Call to Code by innovating with the latest technology to address one of three topics related to climate change:
Winning solutions are deployed in communities that need the most help.
Why focus on climate change?
Simply put, climate change has the potential to impact every human, every industry and every living organism on the planet. It sounds extreme because it is. Exhaustive research has confirmed changing weather patterns, rapidly rising sea levels, and extreme weather events proliferating around the world.
9.8 Billion | By 2050, the global population will reach 9.8B people exerting further pressure on the earth's resources.
3-5 Degrees | By the year 2100, global temperatures could increase 3-5 degrees Celsius (5.4-9.0 degrees Fahrenheit)
Call for Code asks innovators to create practical, effective, and high-quality applications based on one or more IBM Cloud™ services (for example, web, mobile, data, analytics, AI, IoT, or weather) that can have an immediate and lasting impact on humanitarian issues. Teams of developers, data scientists, designers, business analysts, subject matter experts and more are challenged to build solutions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and climate change.
This year the competition will have two tracks. One track is for solutions that help halt and reverse the impact of climate change. The second track is for solutions to mitigate the impact of global pandemics like COVID-19 on communities around the world. Winning solutions are deployed in communities that need the most help.
This trend will not change without action. IBM believes that technology can help reverse these trends and help communities address the impact in tangible ways. As the founding partner of the Call for Code Global Initiative, IBM aims to take this a step further.
Some developers know what they want to build for Call for Code, but for those who don't, there are starter kits. These quick-start guides help developers understand the scope of the problems and start building applications tied to easy-to-understand use cases in a matter of minutes. Click the titles below to learn more and access technical resources, data sets, and documents.
Use this starter kit to understand how water can help fight climate change and jump start your solution with our expert-validated idea.
What is the problem?
The global climate crisis is inextricably linked to water. Higher temperatures and more extreme weather events are projected to affect the availability and distribution of rainfall, snowmelt, river flows, and groundwater, and further deteriorate water quality. Low-income communities, already the most vulnerable to any threats to water supply, are likely to be the worst affected. Read the UN policy on climate change and water and understand how you can make a difference.
How can technology help?
Whether it's third-party open source projects or IBM Cloud services, technologies like data analytics, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain can help address global environmental challenges such as water quantity and quality. Using water more efficiently will reduce greenhouse gases from treatment systems.
Use this starter kit to understand the link between energy consumption and climate change, and jump-start your solution with the expert-validated idea below.
What is the problem?
As the population grows, so does the demand for energy. Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas have exacted an enormous toll on the environment — from air and water pollution to climate change. Investing in solar, wind, and thermal power, along with improving energy productivity and expanding infrastructure, are the keys to providing clean and more efficient energy. Read about the UN Sustainable Development Goal on affordable and clean energy.
How can technology help?
Technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain can help individuals, communities, and utility companies harness their data to increase efficiency and reduce expenditures.
Use this starter kit to understand how technology can help our society become more resilient to disasters and kick-start your solution with this idea for an AI-based app that prepares communities for floods.
What is the problem?
Natural disasters kill an estimated 90,000 people and affect close to 160 million people worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization. Severe weather events in particular have increased in frequency and intensity over the past decade, and scientists believe climate change is a significant factor. In the last 20 years, flooding has been the most common disaster by far, accounting for 43% of all recorded events. Read the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction to see how we make our communities safer and more resilient to disasters.
How can technology help?
Technology can help our society better prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Specific use cases include reducing exposure to hazards, lessening vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improving preparedness and early warning for adverse weather events that are gaining in frequency through climate change.
Technical Content Library: Dig into our best technical content across four key technology areas and start building your idea quickly and easily.
The Grand Prize winners of the inaugural 2018 Call for Code Global Challenge designed solar-powered mesh network devices that build connectivity where there is none. The team brought their devices in a field test to parts of Puerto Rico hit hardest by Hurricane Maria.
The Grand Prize winners of the 2019 Call for Code Global Challenge beat out nearly 180,000 participants with their solution. The Barcelona-based team, which includes first responders, developed a Watson-based AI solution designed to monitor health and safety in firefighters, both long term and in real-time.
Submissions will be judged equally across 4 primary criteria which evaluate whether the solution solves a real-world problem and uses technology effectively.
To enter your team’s code, its documentation, and team member information into the 2020 Call for Code competition, one member of your team will require the following information for the submission form.
Additional details-
The team leader who submitted the solution will receive an email confirming the submission details. If you need to update or replace your submission, please create a new submission. The latest submission from the submitter email address before the July 31, 2020 deadline will be considered the final entry.
