Green technologies and the developing world:Will it address future challenges?

As they pursue economic growth, emerging countries strongly need processes and technology that offer climate-friendly ways or alternatives. However, these nations now face hurdles because of trade laws and intellectual property regulations that render the purchase of the cost-prohibitive technology. A new method of green technology diffusion should be proposed in order to balance the requirement for fluid technology transfers across developing countries with the profit-driven needs and intellectual property concerns of technology holders. A potential solution to the high fixed costs of technology diffusion could be the establishment of a global exchange forum where international green technology holders, green venture capitalists, and developing-country entrepreneurs could negotiate the efficient allocation of investment, resources, and technologies.

WHAT IS GREEN TECHNOLOGY?

Green technology (GT) is a comprehensive word that refers to new and inventive approaches to implementing environmentally beneficial improvements in everyday living. It is designed and utilized to protect natural resources and the environment. It is intended as an alternate source of technology that lowers the use of fossil fuels and causes less harm to human, animal, and plant health and the environment. Green technology limits the amount of waste and pollution produced during manufacturing and use. It is also known as green technology and clean technology. Although it is challenging to describe green technology correctly, it can be stated that "Green Technology is the creation and implementation of goods, equipment, and systems used to conserve the natural environment and resources, which minimizes and lowers the negative effect of human activities." This technology should address societal demands in ways that can be sustained continuously without harming or depleting natural resources. In a nutshell, Green Technology is described as technology that fulfils current requirements without jeopardizing future generations' capacity to meet their own.

Green technology is the understanding of preserving the natural environment and resources while minimizing human participation. It may function in a variety of fields, including biofuel, eco-forestry, renewable energy, and solid waste management. However, it is not feasible nor necessary to use all accessible technologies at once without considering country-specific strengths and shortcomings. The selection of tools and procedures as acceptable technology is critical in assisting communities in deciding what their future should look like. In other words, suitable technology seeks out technologies that positively impact economic distribution, human development, environmental quality, and political power distribution.

Green technologies are critical in creating and developing national sustainable and environmental initiatives. There is a potential for creating and executing strategies to accelerate green technologies in emerging economies, with an increasing emphasis on green technology strategies in strategic decision-making. High agricultural productivity potential, less foreign investment due to terrorism and security concerns, lower green technology costs, and the opportunity to build a positive image are key sub-factors for strategic green technology planning. In contrast, improving the country's security situation in order to attract foreign direct investment, lowering taxes and duties on green technology imports and easing rules for local businesses in transition, and developing plans and programmes to promote green technology in agriculture are seen as optimal strategies.

HOW DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CAN USE GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Technological advances can help developing nations play a more active part in greening global value chains, diversifying, and transitioning to more sustainable economic sectors if enabling policies and collaborations are in place. For example, successful strategies for accelerating the development of renewable energy technologies have been institutional in character, with governments enacting new environmental legislation to stimulate public-private sector collaboration on green transitions. The 2006 renewable energy law in China encouraged the development of the country's biomass industry. Egypt's renewable energy law of 2014 allowed the private sector to collaborate with the government to develop renewable electricity. The global green hydrogen economy is another example of energy production. Developing countries such as Chile, Panama, and South Africa have already advanced green hydrogen strategies that are compatible with long-term development. With wealthy nations lacking labour to make electrolyzers, which are essential for producing green hydrogen, developing countries have a chance to supply future demand in Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Rapid breakthroughs in frontier technologies, such as the bio-economy, artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of things (IoT), and nanotechnology, can benefit the water and sanitation industry. These solutions enable last-mile populations to be reached as off-grid decentralized solutions become more affordable and can be run and maintained locally with minimal training.

To help developing nations capitalize on STI potential, there have been reiterated recommendations to close the digital capability gap, mainly caused by disparities in R&D expenditure between richer and poorer economies. Meanwhile, international innovation collaboration will necessitate more equitable partnerships that extend beyond typical donor-recipient connections. When preparing for technology transfer, it is critical to examine a variety of essential elements and to integrate such transfer into a more significant endeavour to establish broader socioeconomic infrastructure in developing countries. In terms of policy suggestions, the workshop underlined the need to create and strengthen local innovation ecosystems, particularly by involving women and underrepresented groups in project design and execution. It also emphasized the need for STI policies that promote tangible solutions to promote sustainability and climate resilience.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Sustainable and frontier technologies may help emerging countries accelerate greener and more inclusive growth, but international cooperation is essential to make this a reality. That was the key message from the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) at its meeting on October 25 and 26, this year. Green and sustainable technology can provide emerging countries with a window of opportunity to accomplish technological leapfrogging. Countries lagging behind, free of legacy systems, are more adaptable in adopting such technologies at cheaper costs and avoiding risks associated with experimentation, research and development, and the delayed initial acceptance seen by advanced economies. Furthermore, policy changes, funding availability, and global demands fueled by the world's urgent push for sustainability can help reduce barriers to entry, accelerating the adoption of these technologies in the developing world.

For instance, in Indonesia, international development aid and policy support have been critical in bridging gaps left by the private sector and government in the development of geothermal energy. However, there are still enormous financial and legal impediments to overcome and a critical need for enhanced policy transfer and human capacity building at several levels of government and in the technology sector.

The online forum would be a one-stop shop with an efficient search mechanism that connects public money, private investors, and clean tech businesses/entrepreneurs. Supranational standardization is critical for enabling the adoption of eco-innovation and clean technology and easing their diffusion in worldwide markets. Regulations and standards are often more effective than direct government spending. An international group of stakeholders and experts should identify and recommend best practices. The panel must consider regional, geographic, and socioeconomic disparities among nations and sub-regions in order to establish the features of successful policy frameworks for fostering green technology. No research should be centralized; expertise from premier universities and institutions should be pooled to improve collaboration across regional research centres. Uniform definitions of what constitutes legitimate green goals for state aid will aid in avoiding judicial challenges. Various countries should take the initiative to ensure public spending achieves climate goals without violating state-aid rules or trading agreements.

CONCLUSION

There is a lot of room for international collaboration to fill up the gaps in funding, from the conception of ideas through the implementation and commercialization of projects, knowledge and labour skills ability, which are significant impediments to increasing access to clean technology in developing nations. Predictability and consistency of innovation policy are critical for the dissemination of clean technology in both Organisation for Economic, Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD countries. It is crucial to create a market climate that is friendly to innovative technologies to generate market demand. The function of social learning is equally important in the dissemination of clean technology.

The market for green technology is increasing practically exponentially in wealthy nations, while the fledgling demand for green technology in developing countries remains mostly untapped. Creating a global exchange network that includes holders of existing green technology, venture capitalists with the equity and financing know-how to seek out substantial investment opportunities, and indigenous demanders of green technology who are well aware of their local environment and would put the technology to good use, allows many of the traditional barriers to entry to be overcome. Intellectual property rights problems would be lessened since technologies would be stratified such that only those aspects of technology that do not impair competitive advantage would be evaluated.

REFERENCES

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(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)