Software Developers on Climate Change: Summer 2026
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APEngineering
What it is
This report shares survey results on how software developers who use GitHub view climate change, the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, sustainable software practices, and the responsibilities of governments, employers, cloud providers, and GitHub in reducing environmental impact.
The report also compares GitHub users' responses with those of adults across the United States and describes developers' support for or opposition to building solar farms, wind farms, nuclear power plants, and data centers in their local areas.
Teaching tips
Prerequisites:
Provide background information on GitHub and ensure students are familiar with terminology related to software development.
Classroom Implementation:
Use this resource to inform discussions about AI use and public perceptions.
In computer science classes, use the section on software efficiency to discuss how coding choices connect to energy use.
Use this resource as an example of how surveys are used to gather information.
Use the online sections to assign individual sections, rather than the whole report.
Scientist's Note:
This resource depicts how beliefs about climate change differ among different groups of people, highlights climate change issues specific to software development, and provides a good example of how surveys are conducted and analyzed.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on climatecommunication.yale.edu
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