Gartner: The Hype Cycle of Climate Technologies

As the planet continues grappling with the escalating climate crisis, the corporate world is increasingly channelling investments into technology.

Tech doesn’t just support sustainability targets but can also help businesses to adapt to the evolving environmental landscape.

Global consultant Gartner’s 2024 Hype Cycle for Environmental Sustainability shows that companies must shift to climate adaptation strategies to survive. 

Understanding the Gartner Hype Cycle

This graphical tool plots the maturity, adoption, and social application of emergent technologies, presenting a clear picture of their potential risks and benefits.

Decoding the Hype Cycle’s insights

The 2024 Environmental Sustainability report covers a portfolio ranging from AI-driven sustainability initiatives to net-zero data centres. 

Gartner says these technologies are foundational in future-proofing operations against the escalating demands posed by climate change. 

However, the resource-intensive nature of emergent technologies, such as generative AI, require careful deployment to prevent negating the environmental gains they may offer.

On the subject of balance, Gartner’s VP Analyst and KI Leader Sarah Watt says: “Enterprises should adopt an impacts-based mindset. 

“This means looking at the range of solutions available and assessing where to invest to best protect critical business outcomes, for example, regarding extreme weather events. A combination of digital, engineering and nature-based solutions will be put in place to adapt to a changing climate. 

“Climate change impacts can still feel far away. However, some of these impacts are being seen through more severe weather events.

"This impacts business.”

Sarah also advises that assessing whether technology is the right tool in solving sustainability challenges and must be balanced with caution of impact.

“This is a question of applying the right technology to solve the right types of problems,” she adds. “This means making sure that the benefit of using AI exceeds the impacts created.

“AI can be used to optimise everyday sustainability activities by helping with data collection, insight and suggesting actions to, for example, reduce emissions. It can also be used to respond to customer questions or help suppliers identify emissions reduction pathways. 

“AI can also be used in a game-changing way, for example, to identify new materials which are circular or predict climate change impacts.”

Advancing sustainable technology

Despite the promise of these technologies, the path to sustainability is full of interim challenges whilst next-gen solutions are in development. 

Sarah elaborates on certain immediate, or 'bridging', technologies aiding firms on their journey towards goals such as carbon neutrality. 

“One of the big hurdles in the energy transition is to address thermal energy needs,” she begins. “These needs have been met by a range of fuels from coal to natural gas. We have seen a strong focus on electrification — however, this is not always cost-effective. 

“Where natural gas is used, the focus has been on efficiency through mechanisms like heat recovery. It's about doing more with less, until and alternative scales.”

Tackling climate change head-on

It’s not all doom and gloom - whilst waiting for new technologies, there are things businesses can do.

“This is a tricky issue,” Sarah advises. “There is a tension between short-term market performance expectations and longer-term commitments to sustainability goals. 

“One of the ways to overcome this is to match interim sustainability deliverables with financial timelines and build in controls into the decision-making process.”

“Reaching ambitious sustainability goals requires concerted effort over time. 

“Delaying action locks enterprises into the future with potentially unknown costs if goals are to be met.”

Learn more about this topic in a workshop on Technology and AI in the Low Carbon Economy at Sustainability LIVE Net Zero on 5 March 2025, tickets available here.

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