The 21-year-old Artificial Intelligence student at the University of Bristol is a panel speaker tomorrow (Tuesday, 10 November) on Future-Fit Cities at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), which starts today in Antalya, Türkiye.
Matt said: "AI is going to shape how cities use energy and water whether we plan for it or not. I want young people in the room while those decisions are made, not just reading about them afterwards.
"I came into this knowing almost nothing about climate policy. What got me here was asking questions and listening to people who'd spent their careers on it. I hope to bring that back to Bristol."
His interest was sparked during his summer internship as an AI engineer, which involved supporting a smart city project.
“I built an AI agent harness for the project at Gamuda Technologies. It dawned on me that AI is going to sit at the centre of how cities run their energy and water, and very few people my age are part of that conversation,” he said.
“As cities get smarter, the real question and challenge is whether that intelligence is pointed at cutting emissions and saving energy and water, or whether AI just becomes another drain on the grid. Data centres already use huge amounts of power and water, so the balance has to be built in from the start.”
Matt will also be giving a TED-style talk on Sustainable Living in Practice in the Malaysia Pavilion.
He added: “This has been a great opportunity for me to engage with policymakers, engineers and researchers from across the world. It’s exciting to think that my experience and skills could make a real difference on a global stage, helping to find more sustainable solutions as the impact of climate change becomes more apparent.”
A dozen researchers from the University of Bristol will also be joining – either virtually or in-person – the annual two-week summit, which aims to advance collective action and the implementation of the Paris Agreement, a vital international treaty adopted to limit global warming.
Equitable energy systems, environmental law and sustainability, greenhouse gas removal and storage, climate policy, and climate justice are among the many areas of interdisciplinary expertise which climate scientists and researchers from across the University will be bringing to the table.
Professor of Digital Futures Melissa Gregg, Director of Sustainable Enterprise Research Lab at the University’s Bristol Digital Futures Institute and Business School, will be observing to understand how new technologies, especially AI, are being used to progress environmental goals.
Professor Gregg said: “In the current embrace of AI technology, new alliances are forming between high tech companies and the fossil fuel industry which seriously threaten climate goals.
“The weaponisation of information through digital technology is also creating political division which is destabilising consensus on the need for decarbonisation worldwide. I hope that this COP will acknowledge the need for regulation of polluters in both the natural environment and the information environment, since the need to act on climate requires a mindset shift to embrace our ability to comprehend and act swiftly on data.”
Dr Charlotte Ray, Research Fellow in Equitable Energy Systems, is attending for the first time.
Dr Ray said: “I’m looking forward to joining my colleagues from the UK, The Gambia and Nepal, who are leading events and negotiations around energy, climate and sustainable agriculture.
“More widely, the fossil fuel question and finance for a just transition are two of the biggest challenges as we enter COP31. There have been many ideas and suggestions, for example the publication of a voluntary global roadmap to phase out fossil fuels. Yet there is currently no unified, mandated response. There is hope that the roadmap could make significant impact as part of COP31 and a real hope that an increased financial commitment will support many countries in their adaptation strategies to achieve a just transition. At the heart of this is ensuring we have equitable solutions and do not widen inequalities between countries.”
Dr Temitope Tunbi Onifade, Lecturer and Co-Director of the Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability at the University of Bristol Law School, will be observing negotiations and events concerning climate loss and damage, energy transition and sustainable finance.
He said: “For me, the biggest challenges include getting diverse governments to make sufficient commitments that they actually implement to match the urgency of climate change. No country can mitigate climate change without getting the global majority on board but several issues marginalize these communities.
“Some top issues include the failure to deliver finance to developing countries at scale, address climate losses and damages impacting marginalized communities in developed countries, and take the time-tested knowledge, worldviews and solutions that Indigenous Peoples offer seriously, sometimes treating these as an add-on. I can only hope COP31 will fix these issues.”
Dr Paul Merchant, Director of the University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute for the Environment, will be coordinating a session at the Higher Education for Climate Action Pavilion and observing the launch of the first-ever Culture Global Stocktake for Climate Action (CGST).
He said: “The global political climate is challenging for climate action at the moment, as the recent failure to agree a budget for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) work indicates. Creative thinking and compromise will be needed in order to keep progress going. That’s why I hope that the power of culture to strengthen climate education and climate literacy will be reflected in the negotiations.
“COP31 will be successful if it can achieve the planned expansion of the Climate Implementation Bridge finance mechanism, agree ambitious targets on electrification, and develop a broad and inclusive understanding of climate resilience that can overcome political polarisation.”
Achieving a just transition, accelerating climate mitigation and adaptation – including completing adaptation funding arrangements, and shifting loss and damage to delivery at scale are among the key ambitions for COP31, which runs from 9 until 20 November.
Professor Guy Poppy, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, said: “COP31 faces a challenging backdrop of geopolitical tensions, cost-of-living pressures, and tightening national and international budgets.
“That’s why it’s more important than ever for international leaders, policy makers and researchers to unite and keep up the momentum on tackling the wide-reaching, and in some cases, worsening impacts of climate change. It’s great that such wide-ranging expertise and research from the University of Bristol will be part of this important global gathering. I’m particularly impressed that one of our students, Matt Lo, also has an exciting role which demonstrates our core strengths in AI, intelligent and connected systems, and building sustainable futures.”