The world is facing pressing social and economic challenges of unprecedented nature. Hovering over this conjuncture is the climate crisis. As of 2023, carbon emissions are at a record high, reflecting historical growth patterns sourced by fossil fuels and a lack of political will to transition towards renewable energies. Governments are facing complex trade-offs between promoting inclusive economic growth and mitigating climate change.
Green technologies offer transformative solutions to achieve this dual goal. Green technologies are usually associated with renewable energy technologies but also include the strategic use of traditional and new digital technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. They enable cleaner and more efficient production, thus creating a synergy between economic development and climate change mitigation.
Green transformation, supported by frontier technologies, offers a viable route for developing countries to claim agency in their own development narrative and move from crisis to sustainable development. To benefit from the green technology revolution, strong government efforts are needed to take strategic, long-term action to build innovation and technological capacities to spur sustainable economic growth and increase their resilience to future crises.
Objective
This event will present UNCTAD's Technology and Innovation Report 2023, followed by a roundtable discussion by the 10-Member Group representatives. It will be a side event at the STI Forum. The discussion will centre around the implementation of the recommendations from the report and ways of moving forward for countries to strategically position themselves to take advantage of green windows of opportunity. The event will raise awareness of policy options to harness the frontier technologies for inclusive and sustainable development.
Programme
09:00 – 09:05 (EST) Opening by the moderator
09:05 – 09:15 (EST) Presentation
- Technology and Innovation Report 2023 – Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD
09:15 – 09:45 (EST) Roundtable discussion with the 10-Member Group
Moderator: Mr. Richard Roehrl, Senior Economic Affairs Officer of the Integrated Policy Analysis Branch, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Panelists
- Mr. Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz
- Ms. Cherry Murray
- Mr. Yonglong Lu
- Ms. Quarraisha Abdool Karim
- Ms. Salome Guchu
- Mr. Tālis Juhna
- Ms. Xiaolan Fu
09:45 – 09:55 (EST) Q&A
09:55 – 10:00 (EST) Closing by the moderator
