GDA was launched in CoP28 (Dubai, 2023) by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) along with other governmental and civil society organizations. 

• It aims to unite global digital community in developing practical solutions, boosting industry-wide climate support, and strengthening frameworks for monitoring and reporting.

Key Highlights of the Declaration

• Leveraging Digital Technologies: To support climate action and building resilient digital infrastructure. 
• Mitigating the impact of Digitization on climate: Including establishing metrics and indicators to measure the impact of digitization on climate. 
• Fostering Sustainable Innovation: By facilitating investments; protecting intellectual property and adopting open access to technologies, etc. 
• Others: Promoting Digital inclusion, literacy, data driven decision making, etc.

Significance of Digital Technologies in Sustainable Development

• Informed decision making: Using technologies like data analytics, cloud computing, energy consumption can be optimised to support sustainable manufacturing processes.
• Sustainable Design approaches: Stress on circular economy model rather than take-make-dispose to achieve climate goals. 
• Promoting Open data sources: Easily accessible information sources and driving innovation towards newer and cleaner technologies. Ex., Digital Public Infrastructure, etc. 
• Role in Disaster Management: Enhancing climate monitoring and forecasting including Early Warning Systems, early communication, and search and rescue, etc.