IWMI Researcher Alisa Luangrath Joins COP30 in Belém, Brazil as Winner of the UNFCCC AI for Climate Action Award 2025

During COP30 held in Belém, Brazil, the SAFIR solution was recognized as a winning project of the AI for Climate Action Award 2025, organized by the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee (TEC). As part of the official program, Alisa Luangrath, Researcher at IWMI, participated in the event as a representative of the award-winning team.

At the event, IWMI presented SAFIR: Smart AI-Based Farming and Irrigation for Resilience, introducing its AI-based analytical technologies, including a groundwater prediction model, an LSTM-based soil moisture forecasting model, and a reinforcement learning-based irrigation scheduler. The solution aims to reduce climate-related risks in the agricultural sector and improve the efficiency of water management.

In the long term, IWMI plans to release relevant datasets and technologies under an open-source license aligned with Digital Public Goods (DPG) standards. This will help expand cooperation and enable the solution to be applied in various countries, including Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

This award and participation were made possible under the leadership of the UNFCCC TEC, in partnership with the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The event also provided an opportunity to discuss the development and scaling potential of the solution through collaboration with Enterprise Neurosystem and the COP30 Presidency.

During COP30, IWMI also participated in several official side events as a panelist and presenter, sharing insights on agricultural climate resilience, digital innovation, and practical applications of AI technologies. The initiative was also featured through an interview with the UNFCCC media team and the UN News article “Empowering Farmers Through Smart Data.”

Moving forward, IWMI will continue to promote the field application and scaling of the SAFIR solution in Lao PDR, contributing to climate action and strengthening resilience in the agricultural sector.

Sophie De Coninck, Director, Means of Implementation Division, UN Climate Change Secretariat officially transferred award.