Navigating Tensions in Climate Data Governance: Insights and Reflections

Grunnleggende konsepter

Navigating tensions in climate data governance is crucial for harnessing the potential of climate data for public good through multi-stakeholder governance, data stewardship, and equitable data practices.

Sammendrag

Introduction:

• Data offers new pathways for governance in the age of polycrisis.
• Risks of data include inequality, biases, and access asymmetries.
  Tensions:

1. Diversity of Sources, Actors, Purposes, and Products:
   • New data sources and stakeholders create complexity.
   • Advances in technology diversify climate data collection.
2. Competing Concerns and Lack of Common Principles:
   • Divergence between climate change actors and private sector.
   • Need for a unified framework for data use.
3. Power Imbalance:
   • Disparities in decision-making and data access.
   • Importance of equity considerations.
4. Extraction through Collection:
   • Concerns about data sovereignty and equitable practices.
   • Addressing power imbalances in data collection.
5. Quality, Provenance, and Standards:
   • Ensuring data integrity and developing standards.
   • Importance of data quality for climate action.
6. Timeliness, Continuity, and Sustainability:
   • Balancing timely data collection with sustainability.
   • Challenges in policy continuity and financial sustainability.
7. Access, Openness, and Transparency:
   • Balancing open data with data protection.
   • Fostering data collaboratives and transparency.
8. Bias, Capture, and Whitewashing:
   • Addressing biases in data and algorithms.
   • Ensuring credibility and trust in data use.
9. Local vs. Global:
   • Navigating tensions between local autonomy and global coordination.
   • Importance of subsidiarity in data governance.
10. Disputes, Accountability, and Use:

• Establishing mechanisms for resolving disputes and ensuring accountability.
• Ethical use of climate data and responsible decision-making.
  Conclusion:
• Data stewards play a key role in fostering responsible climate data practices.

Statistikk

"Data stewards are 'Individuals or teams that are empowered to proactively initiate, facilitate and coordinate data collaboratives when they may be useful or necessary.'" - Verhulst (2018)
"Verhulst (2024) has called an impending 'data winter' — a period of decreased funding for and access to data."

Sitater

"The road to climate justice runs, at least in part, through data justice."

Viktige innsikter hentet fra

The Need for Climate Data Stewardship

by Stefaan Verh... klokken arxiv.org 03-28-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.18107.pdf

Dypere Spørsmål

How can data stewards effectively balance the diverse interests and priorities in climate data governance?

Data stewards can effectively balance the diverse interests and priorities in climate data governance by adopting a multi-stakeholder approach. This involves collaborating with various stakeholders, including international bodies, national governments, local authorities, statistical agencies, climate researchers, private sector entities, and citizen scientists. By engaging with this diverse range of actors, data stewards can align interests, sensitivities, and requirements at all levels of decision-making. This multi-stakeholder governance approach helps ensure legitimacy, trust, and the protection of individual and collective concerns and rights in the climate data ecosystem.
Furthermore, data stewards can promote transparency and inclusivity by implementing data collaboratives and adhering to FAIR data principles. These principles focus on making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable, which can help bridge gaps between the private and public sectors and promote greater data sharing. By fostering collaboration and transparency, data stewards can navigate the complexities of climate data governance and ensure that diverse interests are considered and balanced effectively.

How can the concept of data stewardship be applied to other fields beyond climate data governance?

The concept of data stewardship can be applied to other fields beyond climate data governance by promoting responsible data practices, collaboration, and ethical decision-making. In various sectors such as healthcare, finance, education, and urban planning, data stewards can play a crucial role in managing data ethically, preventing harm, and ensuring data quality and integrity.
Data stewards in healthcare, for example, can oversee the collection, analysis, and use of patient data to protect privacy, uphold ethical standards, and improve healthcare outcomes. In finance, data stewards can ensure compliance with regulations, prevent data breaches, and promote transparency in financial transactions. In education, data stewards can facilitate data-driven decision-making to enhance student learning outcomes and educational policies.
Overall, the principles of data stewardship, including collaboration, protection, and proactive action, can be applied across various fields to promote responsible data practices, protect individual rights, and contribute to the public good. By embracing the concept of data stewardship, organizations and institutions can navigate the complexities of data governance and ensure that data is used ethically and effectively in diverse contexts.