Page 18 - Mapping the Nation: Taking Climate Action

For Global Leaders Focused on Climate Action, GIS Technology Is Foundational By Jack Dangermond Commitments in April 2021 by 40 world leaders and more than 300 businesses to address climate change, with ambitious goals for emission reductions, make me excited about our ability to achieve meaningful change in my lifetime. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, our collective vulnerability helps us realize we are in this together. The pandemic disruption has provided a pause for reflection, and leaders are wise to use this time to focus on the causes of increasing climate calamities and biodiversity decline. We can, and must, take global action. I'm heartened most by the "Build Back Better" message of the Biden administration as well as all global leaders around the world with similar sentiments because it turns the moment into one of opportunity and level setting to ensure that everyone benefits. The GIS technology we build at Esri provides a new level of contextual awareness that gained global attention during the COVID-19 crisis. The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard was built with GIS technology. Thousands of other organizations around the world have used GIS from Esri to analyze health and safety information, understand the needs of communities, and take a data-driven approach to the pandemic's many challenges. My life's work has focused on building decision support systems rooted in geography to combine disparate data and help people see the whole of a problem. Laura Dangermond and I started Esri with the enduring belief that a geographic approach can improve the natural world, our built environments, and the lives of people. I feel thankful that millions of GIS users around the world provide proof of this premise. 17