The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has warned that developing countries may miss out on economic opportunities stemming from green technologies unless decisive action is taken by governments and international bodies. The UN body believes that green technologies such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and the Internet of Things could create a market worth more than $9.5 trillion by 2030, three times the size of the Indian economy. Unctad’s Technology and Innovation report warns of increasing economic inequalities if developed countries gain the most from these technologies.
Rebeca Grynspan, Unctad’s secretary general, said that developing countries must capture more of the value being created in the technological revolution to grow their economies. Developed countries saw the total exports of green technologies rise to over $156 billion in 2021 from about $60 billion in 2018, while developing nations saw exports rise to only about $75 billion from $57 billion, with their share of global exports falling to under 33%.
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Unctad says that only a few developing countries have the capacity to take advantage of frontier technologies such as blockchain, drones and solar, while high-income countries such as the US, Sweden, Singapore, Switzerland and the Netherlands lead the UN body’s frontier technology readiness index. The second quarter of the list includes emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India and Russia.
Unctad warns that countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa are the “least ready” to harness frontier technologies and are at risk of missing current technological opportunities. Developing countries need proactive industrial, innovation and energy policies targeting green technologies to benefit from the green tech revolution, said Shamika Sirimanne, director of Unctad’s technology and logistics division. She added that developing countries need agency and urgency in developing the right policy responses to spur sustainable economic growth and increase their resilience to future crises.
