May 2026 Fireside Chat
Event Summary
22 May 2026
In May’s Data for Policy Fireside Chat, Professor Masaru Yarime (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) explored the increasingly complex relationship between digital innovation, sustainability, competitiveness, and global governance. Chaired by Dr Claudia Abreu Lopes (United Nations University – International Institute for Global Health), the session brought together researchers and practitioners to examine how emerging technologies are reshaping policy responses to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Professor Yarime highlighted the significant opportunities AI offers for advancing sustainability goals, including improving energy efficiency, supporting renewable energy integration, strengthening climate adaptation and resilience, and enabling more effective management of complex systems. At the same time, he emphasised the growing environmental footprint of digital infrastructure, particularly the rapid expansion of data centres and the increasing energy demands associated with cloud computing and AI systems.
The discussion examined emerging policy challenges surrounding data governance, greenhouse gas emissions from cloud computing, and the need for more sophisticated approaches to measuring and managing the environmental impacts of digital technologies. Professor Yarime also presented research on how different countries are responding to the challenge of balancing digital infrastructure development with sustainability objectives, highlighting the importance of regional and international cooperation.
Looking beyond sustainability, the conversation addressed the growing importance of competitiveness and security in shaping technology policy. Drawing on recent research, Professor Yarime discussed the value of international research collaboration for innovation, while also considering the implications of geopolitical tensions, research security concerns, and the need for more effective global governance mechanisms for AI.
The session concluded with a lively audience discussion covering sustainable data centre development, local community impacts, regulatory implementation challenges, and the importance of maintaining international dialogue in an increasingly fragmented global environment. Together, these conversations highlighted the need for governance approaches capable of balancing sustainability, innovation, competitiveness, and security in the digital age.
About the Speakers:
Masaru Yarime is an Associate Professor at the Division of Public Policy and the Division of Environment and Sustainability and the Co-Director of the AI Ethics and Governance Lab at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has appointments as an Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy at University College London and a Visiting Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Tohoku University. Alongside Data & Policy, he also serves on the editorial boards of journals, including Sustainability Science, Environmental Science and Policy, and Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Innovation and Governance). He received a B.Eng. and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tokyo and the California Institute of Technology, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Economics and Policy Studies of Innovation and Technological Change from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
Dr Claudia Abreu Lopes is a Research Lead at the United Nations University’s Global Health Institute. Her work sits at the intersection of global health governance, digital health, and gender equality, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. She brings over two decades of academic and applied research experience, having held positions at the University of Coimbra, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Cambridge (POLIS). She has also worked in the non-profit and innovation sectors, including roles at Girl Effect and Africa’s Voices Foundation, leading projects that leverage digital data to design and evaluate public health and social development interventions. She holds a PhD in Social Research Methods from the London School of Economics and Political Science.