Technological solutions key to creating climate-resilient future

Leading subsurface software technology company Seequent highlights that technology solutions will assist in mitigating the global threat of climate change.

Seequent, the Bentley Subsurface Company, builds “world-leading technology that is at the forefront of Earth Sciences”.

The company says it transforms the way people work by developing software that assists in making critical mineral resource extraction more sustainable, helping developers and parastatals to build climate-resilient infrastructure and source renewable energy, and reducing society’s impact on the environment.

The company highlights pertinent climate challenges, including the rise in sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and concerns around long-term water and food security. With an acute awareness of the environmental impacts of business activities, it highlights some of the mitigation measures as including the creation of resilient infrastructure with a reduced carbon footprint, “reducing project impact on the environment”, and fostering the sustainable development of critical minerals for renewable energy.

Seequent notes that changes in weather systems are leading to biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and natural resource shortages.

In offering its solution, the company argues that addressing climate change requires a better understanding of global challenges. It emphasises, therefore, the importance of developing adaptation plans, including the creation of early warning systems, advanced sustainable water management, and making processes and products more energy and resource efficient.

Seequent says its solutions assist the civil, mining and energy industries in understanding and unlocking the potential below the surface, enabling clients to make faster decisions.

It adds that researchers use its technology on various climate change-related projects, including the study of retreating glaciers in Antarctica, to better understand ice-melt processes and update predictions on sea-level rises.

In his assessment of climate change policies enacted by countries worldwide, Seequent environment segment director Dr Thomas Krom opines that much more needs to be done to advance dramatic change, especially because the opportunity for timely intervention diminishes every day.

Difficult decisions need to be made to address climate change challenges: “I believe adopting a status-quo approach poses the risk of exacerbating the ever-worsening impacts of climate change. “Enhancing government and community engagement, investing in research, and deploying technology solutions are essential to advancing climate adaptation plans,” he states.

Seequent’s customers also use its technology to find, manage and maintain groundwater in areas of water stress, scarcity and contamination, conducting work in, among others, Somalia, South Sudan and Bangladesh to find groundwater and effect some relief.

The company’s Leapfrog 3D geological modelling software is also used to source green hydrogen from geothermal resources and manage ground risk and create resilient infrastructure with reduced carbon footprints.

Seequent notes that cities are growing at a rapid rate, and the consensus is that they will be home to just over 65% of the world’s population by 2050. It adds that urban growth, alongside climate change, increases the competition for land and water for food production, forcing new thinking about how to manage growing urban populations.

Partnerships and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders working to achieve collective climate goals ensures a common understanding of the needs across the industries in which Seequent works.

“At COP 28, I observed a growing consensus on the role of data-driven solutions and digital innovation in addressing climate-related challenges. “Emphasis was placed on partnerships, collaborative efforts, and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders. A key aspect was that the solution design process must be inclusive and holistic to enable the greatest possible return on investment and the most resilient solutions to address global challenges,” adds Krom.

The company stresses the importance of acquiring a better understanding of the underground to help organisations and governments reach their net-zero targets by 2050.

“Vital resources such as groundwater, critical minerals and energy come from the subsurface. Our technology transforms how these resources are understood and recovered. Implementing these innovations will require collective action at many levels and new ways of thinking and doing,” concludes Krom.