Big data for climate action or climate action for big data?

Under the banner of “data for good,” companies in technology, finance, and retail sectors supply their proprietary datasets to development agencies, NGOs, intergovernmental organizations help solve an array social problems. We focus on activities implications Data Climate Action campaign, a set public–private collaborations that wield user data design innovative responses global climate crisis. Drawing in-depth interviews, first-hand observations at good” events, international organizational reports, media publicity, we evaluate logic driving initiatives, examining applying commercial expertise environmental Despite increasing adoption paradigms government public sector efforts address change, argue is better seen as strategy legitimate extractive, profit-oriented practices by than means achieve goals sustainability.