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

技术，金融和零售领域的公司在“有益数据”的旗帜下，将其专有数据集提供给发展机构，非政府组织和政府间组织，以帮助解决一系列社会问题。我们专注于“气候行动数据”运动的活动和意义，这是一组公私合作，利用用户数据来设计对全球气候危机的创新应对措施。通过深入访谈，对“有益数据”活动的第一手观察，政府间和国际组织报告以及媒体宣传，我们评估了推动“气候行动数据”倡议的逻辑，研究了将商业数据集和专业知识应用于环境问题。