The climate change controversy is a global discussion, thanks to headlining people and policies like Greta Thunberg and the Green New Deal. Whether you’re for or against climate change policies, you have some major arguments and evidence supporting your claims. As legislation is enacted, everyone is affected, but none more so right now than big tech industries.

Global arguments in favor of enacting policies that are intended to reduce climate change are cracking down hard on these major industries. As big corporations scramble to ensure they’re following the newest rules and regulations, the policies change and the Green New Deal continues to chugga-chugga-chugga its way to being passed in the legal arena.

Proponents and Opponents

Proponents and opponents of climate change have compelling arguments to support their sides. This makes the subject very divisive and controversial.

Proponents of the theory that climate change is a dangerous problem that is spiraling out of control state that scientific evidence shows Earth’s climate changes periodically throughout history and is undergoing another shift now. Glacial advance and retreat ends in ice ages and other natural catastrophes. The warming trend going on now is said to be increasing at a rate that has never happened before, due to the influx of human activity and interaction on the environment.

Satellites that orbit the Earth and other forms of technology  have monitored global data and show signs, according to these supporters, of climate change. The data shows a steady rise in global temperatures of about 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century, due most likely to increased carbon dioxide and human-made emissions.

An ever-warming ocean is the direct recipient of most of this heat, since 90% of the extra energy on the planet is stored in the ocean. Historically powerful hurricanes, typhoons, and other natural events are believed to be the result of this gradual increase of heat.

Further arguments include shrinking ice sheets in the Greenland and Antarctic areas, glacial retreat in places like the Alps, Rockies, Alaska, and other arctic areas as shown from space, and decreased snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere over the past fifty years.

But opponents of climate change refute these arguments by reminding us that these temperature drops and increases have happened over the past century and have had minimal, if any, major effects. They claim that climate change models are unreliable and point out the dissent among scientists as to whether this is a real issue or not. Other arguments say humans aren’t responsible for these changes - solar and volcanic activity is.

Regardless of your stand on climate change, it means major adjustments for Big Tech.

Big Tech’s Problems

Giving credit to some of the major tech companies like Google and Apple: Some have already stepped in to make changes that reduce their carbon footprint. According to representatives of Apple, all of its facilities are powered by renewable energy. Google has purchased renewable energy and is currently the largest buyer of these sources. Even Microsoft and Facebook are on board with attempting to move to 100% renewable energy over the next few years.

But these changes aren’t enough, according to the Green New Deal and climate change activists. Global emissions are still rising, and they have to drop within the next decade by more than half in order to avoid significant climate change effects.

Big Tech is now tasked with the matter of sustainability to reduce climate change, which means overhauling the economy in general. To do this, it has to start from the ground up, fixing problems like housing and healthcare, injustice in race, gender, and socioeconomics, and income inequality.

With a collective worth estimated at over $35 trillion, big tech companies are the easy target. The rationale behind this is that their products, networks, and infrastructure are utilized by almost every person around the world. Therefore, they are able to reach a wider audience than any other industry.

Because of this, the Green New Deal focuses on bringing in Big Tech as an integral part of the root of its policy. These leaders are tasked with coming up with innovative ideas to handle the shifts that are required for a major change to occur. They have the ability to impact politics, the economic resources to get the job done, and some of the brightest thinkers on the planet working for them.

While it sounds like a bit of common sense, not all of the leaders are on board. The idea of impacting climate change for the better is now the next big problem for Big Tech as it means working together, possibly reducing profits, and, quite literally, saving the world.