Digital Earth Initiative launched at 2025 WSTDF to boost SDGs

A global initiative leveraging digital technologies to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was launched at the 2025 World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF) in Beijing on Oct. 28.

The Digital Earth Initiative for the SDGs aims to transform complex data into actionable insights for ethical, transparent decision-making. Unlike static targets, the initiative views SDGs as interconnected challenges across climate, water, energy, nature, and society, emphasizing integrated solutions through big data, AI, and Earth sciences.

Based on the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) framework, the initiative plans pilot “theaters” to apply Digital Earth technologies in key SDG areas while ensuring governance and transparency. The launch session brought together 70 experts from 19 countries, alongside U.N. agencies and international organizations.

ISDE president Richard Simpson described Digital Earth as a federated cyber-physical infrastructure enabling planetary-scale understanding through sensing, simulation, and global data coordination. Panel discussions highlighted GeoAI, geospatial tools, and other innovations to close gaps in SDG achievement.