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Saturday, 12.10.2024, 06:30
Sustainability through digital means: inherent connections
At the end of 2015, about two hundred UN member states adopted
17 ambitious sustainable development goals (so-called SDGs) to be reached by 2030.
The goals are numerous: from ending extreme poverty and combating inequality to
addressing climate changes’ emergency, to health care, to air and water quality
and so on and so forth. The progress towards SDGs delivery is monitored by both
the EU institutions and the authorities in the member states; however, after
five years in action, the process is far from being optimal and in some SDGs the
situation is even reversing.
Using the modern digital “applications” and new technologies
could have definite positive effects on SDGs implementation through the “green
growth” development patterns by large and small companies, by economic sectors
in general, by industries and by policy-makers.
According to “Global survey on Sustainability and SDGs” (2020), the SDGs are globally rather unknown in science and education with a negative SDG awareness in economic science (50% globally and 56% in EU). This the reason that presently, the SDGs are still “rarely addressed in classical business studies and research fields of economics”. Among various SDGs, priorities are attributed to SDG-12 “Responsible consumption and production”, SDG 13 “Climate actions” and SDG-4 “Quality
education” with the most important SDG-17 “Partnerships for the goals”.
Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR
All EU member states are desperately trying to unite the
modern technologies (embedded in the 4IR) with the SDGs: no doubt, the 4IR is serving
as a driving force in implementing SDGs. For example, about 70% of the SDGs could
be actively implemented with already existing digital technology applications. However,
the states are presently quite slow and inefficient in unlocking the digital
potentials, including artificial intelligence’s (AI) means. The states’
governance structures have to be more active in deploying new technologies for
both short-term growth and long-term (commercial) gains through a more
responsible and purposeful approach in using digital technology in implementing
SDGs. The table below shows the 4IR’s inherent connections in modern decision-making
processes.
Source World Economic Forum Newsletter (2020), in: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/decade-of-action-from-technology-optimism-to-technology-realism/
EU’s digital agenda
European digital
policy and technologies are not only interconnecting the member states in
developing new growth paths, but they are also integrating the EU countries into
the global processes of which the SDGs are the vital component. EU institutions
have already set the standards in telecoms and data protection, for instance,
though the states fall behind in other areas of the digital economy.
Investments in blockchain, high-performance computing, quantum computing,
algorithms and new tools for secure data sharing and usage are the vital points
on the path to innovation.
More in chapters
3.2 and 3.4 in E. Eteris Latvia in Europe and the world; reference to
https://www.rsu.lv/sites/default/files/imce/Dokumenti/Biblioteka/Eugene_Eteris_2018_gramata.pdf
Digital data and
AI technologies can definitely help to develop smart solutions in the member
states concerning numerous socio-economic and sustainability issues: from
health to farming, to food security, to manufacturing including “smart
specialisation strategies”. In these directions, new approaches to education
and learning –with improved quality education- are the keys to paving the way
for a new area of sustainable growth.
The following are
the main directions in the optimal use of digital solutions in sustainability:
- first, digital
economy and society issues, which can ensure that citizens and businesses would
have full advantage of digital opportunities. However, the Commission noted, about
47 per cent of the EU population
is not properly digitally skilled, yet in the near future, about 90 per cent of
all jobs will require some level of digital skills.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/priorities/europe-fit-digital-age_en
and
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/economy-society
- second, the
member states (with the assistance from the EU institutions) actions in creating
proper and efficient conditions
for digital networks and services. The Commission acknowledges that the
high-speed, secure and trustworthy infrastructures and services shall be
supported by the EU. Only the “right environment” for innovative digital
services will help in creating advanced infrastructures and feasible conditions
for investment in digital networks.
More in: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/right-environment-digital-networks-and-services
Better
regulations for digital networks and services are also important for creating rules
that match the pace of technology, such as the next-generation of 5G mobile
connections or the financial technology implementation, so-called fintech. There
are presently several directions in the EU digital single market*); some of
them are both directly and indirectly connected to sustainability. In creating
a digital society, the European Commission aims for an inclusive digital
society in the member states, which will benefit from the digital single
market. Building smarter cities, improving access to e-Government, e-Health
services and digital skills will enable a truly digital European society.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/creating-digital-society
*) General link on the EU digital single market: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en
- third, the countries’ digital priorities: digital
issues are not a “specific priority” in the new Commission; in the previous college,
there have been even two “digital Commissioners” –one for the digital economy
and another one for the digital society. Increasing “digital role” in the member
states’ socio-economic development is a vital component in the European integration
too. Data protection has become an
important issues and reforming data protection will give people control over
their data and help businesses comply with the single market. In May
2018, the General Data Protection Regulation entered into force in the member
states, which provided for a single set of data protection rules for all
companies operating in the EU, wherever they are based. Stronger rules on data
protection mean that: a) people have more control over their personal data, and
b) businesses benefit from a level playing field in digital spheres.
On data
protection rules in: https://ec.europa.eu/info/priorities/justice-and-fundamental-rights/data-protection/2018-reform-eu-data-protection-rules/eu-data-protection-rules_en
- fourth, the commercial aspects of the “EU digital
society”, which guarantee a better access to online goods for consumers and
businesses by helping the member states creating a commercial level-marketplace.
The new rules adopted in EU prevent an unjustified geo-blocking in the
EU states: i.e. people can freely buying from a website based in another EU state;
thus barriers for consumers in cross-border shopping are abandoned. New rules
entered into force in the member states in December 2018, which ended online
discrimination on the basis of nationality or place of residence. These rules ensured
that people no longer face barriers as being re-routed back to a
country-specific website, or having to pay with a debit or credit card only
from a certain country. Besides, the online sellers are obliged to treat all EU
consumers equally regardless of the “shopping place”. New Commission President,
Ursula von der Leyen acknowledges the college commitment to upgrade the Union's
liability and safety rules for digital platforms, services and products, with a
new Digital Services Act.
Reference to the
Commission web-site on e-trade in EU: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/new-eu-rules-e-commerce
Investment issues in the EU digital agenda
Successive implementation of the European Fund for Strategic
Investments, EFSI (which was a focal point in the Investment Plan for Europe,
originated in November 2014) the Commission extended in 2016 its duration and
capacity to boost investment. The so-called "EFSI 2.0" will be active
from mid-2018 to the end of 2020 and help to increase investment targets from
€315 billion to at least half a trillion euros. In December 2017, the EU
institutions together with the states agreed on the "EFSI 2.0 Regulation”
and it became the law on 30 December 2017.\
More in: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_16_3002
One of the EU agencies, the European Policy Center, EPC launched in 2017 a programme “Connecting Europe” jointly with Stiftung Mercator. Connecting Europe enables projects and organisations to actively engage with EU policymakers. Besides, the programme focuses on joint activities both on the future of Europe and sustainability, climate change and other key EU issues. By conducting those activities, Connecting Europe fosters an open, constructive dialogue among the member states and the EU decision-makers. In this way it promotes favorable exchanges between civil society initiatives on the ground and the EU policy community. The project enhances mutual understanding among the EU states in positive contribution to sustainability. More in: https://www.epc.eu/en/programmes/Connecting-Europe~110d3c
Digital industry and sustainable services: financial aspects
The Commission launched in April 2016 the first
industry-related initiative of the “digital single market package”, complementing
the various national initiatives for digitising industry, such as Industrie 4.0,
Smart Industry and l'industrie du future.
The Commission is taking actions along 5 main directions: - use of policy
instruments, - financial support, - coordination among the member states in
“digital industry”, - legislative efforts to trigger further public and private
investments in all industrial sectors, and – creating framework conditions for
the digital industrial revolution.
On industry: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/fourth-industrial-revolution;
on EIB’s support in the table below.
Industry is one of the pillars of the EU economy: e.g. manufacturing
sector in the EU accounts for 2 mln enterprises, 33 mln jobs and 60% of
productivity growth. However, the new industrial revolution, driven by
new-generation information technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT),
cloud computing, big data and data analytics, robotics and 3D printing has
opened new horizons for industry to become more efficient and innovative. Recent
studies showed that digitalisation of production and services can add more than
€ 110 billion of annual revenue to the European economy in the next five years.
European industry is strong in digital sectors such as
electronics for automotive industry, security and energy markets, telecom
equipment, business software, as well as laser and sensor technologies. European
states are also having world-class research and technology institutes; however,
there are large disparities in digitisation among EU’s regions.
Present EU plans are aimed at mobilizing up to € 50 billion
of public and private investments in support of the digitisation of industry.
This money is divided into the following activities: € 37 billion investment to
boost digital innovation; € 5.5 billion national and regional investments in
digital innovation hubs; € 6.3 billion for the first production lines of
next-generation electronic components; and € 6.7 billion for the European Cloud
Initiative.
More in: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/digitising-european-industry
Table: EIB’s efforts
in activating investments
As to EFSI finances for the Baltic States approved by the
EIB Group, Estonia has had €158 mln, Latvia - € 270 and Lithuania - € 386 mln;
this financial “loans & guarantees” were supposed to trigger,
correspondingly, €1335, €1133 and €1809 mln of investments. The investment’s
activity, as to the share of GDP, is the highest in Estonia (second among
EU-27), seventh in Lithuania and ninth in Latvia (first was Greece and third
Portugal).
The EFSI can contribute to large, “green digital
infrastructure” projects, with deployment of the latest technologies to allow
access to ultrafast broadband in the EU states. These projects can originate
from national broadband plans, regional initiatives or be led by private
companies willing to invest in future oriented broadband infrastructures and
digital services such as high-performance computing and cloud services. The
EFSI is one of many EU financing tools available to start-ups in the digital
sector: for example, projects suitable for financing in the digital sector
under the EFSI could also benefit from the support of grants and financial
instruments from Horizon 2020, European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF)
and the Connecting Europe Facility. This funding source may finance part of the
project (in the form of a grant or a loan) while an EFSI-backed loan may cover
the remaining costs of the project.
The European Investment Plan includes more than just
guarantee’s provision to unlock additional investments through the EFSI. The
digital economy and the digital sector should significantly benefit from the
various elements of the Plan.
As for all sectors, project promoters in the digital sector
can seek technical assistance through the European
Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH). The Hub offers a single access point for
advisory and technical assistance services to allow promoters get their
projects off the ground.
About the EIAH see: https://eiah.eib.org/
The European Investment Project Portal– the #InvestEU Portal – is a platform to
boost the visibility of investment opportunities, including those in the
digital sector, across Europe. The aim of the Portal is to bring together
project promoters seeking investment with investors seeking projects.
About InvestEUPortal
see: https://ec.europa.eu/eipp/desktop/en/index.html
The European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) offers
assistance in numerous viable projects connected to sustainability issues: 111
projects in “energy union”, 138 in transportation, 145 in environmental quality
and protection, and in use of natural resources.
More on Latvian projects in the category “environment and
natural resources” in Commission web-site “Find investment opportunities”: https://ec.europa.eu/eipp/desktop/en/card-view.
In order to implement the SDGs, it is critical to mobilize
private finance at greater speed and scale. Financial innovations, new
technologies and digitalization have the potential to contribute significantly
to this task. In this regard, the UN Secretary-General has appointed recently a
Task Force on Digital Financing in SDGs to investigate how this potential can
be unlocked while managing at the same time the associated risks. The Task
Force’s results and the outcomes were seen at the “German Sustainable Fintech” undertaken
by the Sustainable Digital Finance Alliance to include representatives from
business, politics, civil society and academia in Germany and Europe. The idea
is to reveal new trends in the finance sector, to leverage innovation for
financing sustainable development with key actors from the digital,
sustainability and finance sectors to trigger further initiatives.
Most EU states created national SDGs solutions networks;
thus, the German Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Germany) was
founded in April 2014 which pooled together knowledge, experience and
capacities of German academic, corporate and civil society to contribute to the
sustainable development in Germany and around the world.
In this regard, the Sustainable Digital Finance Alliance is
to leverage digital technologies and innovations to enhance financing for
sustainable development. The UN Secretary General’s Task Force on Digital
Financing of the SDGs is a clear example of activating some concrete and actionable
steps to identify ways through which the digital revolution should be harnessed
to help advance the SDGs.
Digital aspects in the European “green deal”
The Commission is of opinion that the “green transition”
shall be a “window of opportunity” in the member states to foster sustainable
and job-intensive economic activity.
Europe needs a digital sector that puts sustainability and
green growth at its heart. Digitalisation presents new opportunities for: a) monitoring
of air and water pollution, b) monitoring and optimising the consumption and
usage of energy and natural resources.
The Commission is advocating a “sustainable products”
policy, which will prioritise reducing and reusing materials before recycling
them. However, presently, due to insufficient manufacturing technology’s
opportunities, only minimum requirements will be set to regulate the share of
environmentally harmful products being placed on the EU-27 markets; most
important is to tackle “false green claims”.
Two visible examples: the Commission has proposed measures
in 2020 to ensure that all packaging in the EU would be reusable and/or
recyclable by 2030; new business models will be developed based on renting
goods and services to assist the member states in shifting consumption patterns
away from single or limited use products.
Since March 2020, the member states would follow the EU
adopted industrial strategy to support the green transformation. Hence, the member
states’ industries will be provided with assistance to modernise and exploit
existing opportunities nationally and regionally. Generally, the main aim is to
stimulate the development of new markets for climate neutral and circular
products. As a by-target for the member states, the decarbonisation and
modernisation of energy-intensive industries, e.g. steel, cement, chemistry,
etc. will be essential.
The potentials in sustainability are great: so far, only
about 12% of the materials used by the EU member states’ industries
come from recycling (Eurostat figures from 2016).
References to: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/fs_19_6724
Government actions
The EU states’ decision-makers shall be active in moving quickly
to create new mechanisms in SDGs implementation and in digital technologies. As
World Economic Forum-2020 underlined, “time and expertise on one hand” coped
with “enabling government policies and regulations on the other” could trigger
sufficient progress. As soon as the rapid pace of change of technological
innovation will go on, the “channels of technology” will play a greater role in
supporting states’ efforts in SDGs implementation.
Thus, government actions are likely to include the following actions:
- developing responsible “technology codes and standards” as well as data protocols in consultation with industry;
- harnessing public procurement tools (including sustainability standards) for digital assets and suppliers of “responsible technology requirements”;
- prioritizing investment in the 4IR-enabling infrastructures including broadband, open cloud connections, satellites and energy grids;
- taking a lead in basic/applied research and fintech at the “intersection of technology and societal/environmental impact”, including opportunities for more customers’ oriented research;
- catalyzing innovation in new solutions, e.g. through incubators, accelerators and price support mechanisms;
- performing perspective sectoral and environmental policy solutions through subsidy reforms; and
-updating national structural policies to reflect the 4IR achievements, including
reforms in labour market, taxation, social safety nets and education.
Reference to World Economic Forum web-site at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/decade-of-action-from-technology-optimism-to-technology-realism/,
January 2020.
Conclusion
Existing digital applications being deployed presently through
the specialists’ exploration of the 4IR changers would provide for drastic
innovation in the next decade in all spheres of socio-economic development. Digital
aspects in the research, development and innovation’s phase are already
providing an active support for quicker SDGs implementation.
For example, quantum-computing is already determining optimal
carbon capture materials and AI-enabled research assists in creating new
antibiotics to address microbial resistance to current antibiotics; in short, there
are apparent and breakthrough innovations –in technology and social/governments
policies- to assist the SDGs’ implementation.
Regardless of some problematic issues, modern societies are
capable of turning available science, technology and digital achievements into breakthrough
solutions that shall bring countries closer to optimal SDGs implementation.
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