Technology

Technology plays a central role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The transformative power of technology can accelerate progress towards all the SDGs by driving economic growth, reducing inequalities, enhancing access to basic services, and promoting sustainability.

Under SDG 9, technology, particularly in terms of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), is a key enabler of industrial innovation and infrastructure development. ICT has the potential to drive economic growth by enhancing productivity, creating jobs, and fostering entrepreneurship. Moreover, it can contribute to making industries more sustainable by facilitating the transition towards smart manufacturing and circular economy models.

Regarding SDG 4, technology can greatly enhance access to quality education. Digital technologies, including e-learning platforms, can break down barriers to education, such as geographical distance, socio-economic status, and physical disabilities. They can also enrich the learning process by enabling personalized, student-centered learning experiences.

In the context of SDG 3, technology has a profound impact on health outcomes. Medical technologies, from simple devices like thermometers to complex systems like MRI machines, have revolutionized healthcare delivery. Furthermore, digital health technologies, such as telemedicine and mobile health apps, can enhance access to health services, improve patient outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs.

For SDG 13, technology offers powerful tools for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Renewable energy technologies can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while climate information services can enhance resilience to climate impacts. Furthermore, digital technologies can facilitate the monitoring and reporting of climate actions, contributing to greater transparency and accountability.

However, the benefits of technology are not automatic, and there are significant challenges to overcome, including the digital divide, cybersecurity threats, and ethical issues related to privacy and data ownership. Thus, policy interventions and multi-stakeholder partnerships are needed to ensure that technology serves as a catalyst for sustainable development and does not exacerbate inequalities.

Persuading individuals to engage in pro-environmental behavior is challenging. Interactive media, such as virtual environments and video games, present opportunities to minimize psychological distance and bolster perceived risks associated with environmental threats. In this experiment, we tested the effects of a serious game that allowed users to engage in environmental cleanup. In the virtual environment, participants (N = 190) navigated down a polluted river that was described as geographically and temporally close or distant.
Elsevier,

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 120, March 2020

Smart home technologies refer to devices that provide some degree of digitally connected, automated, or enhanced services to building occupants. Smart homes have become central in recent technology and policy discussions about energy efficiency, climate change, and the sustainability of buildings. Nevertheless, do they truly promote sustainability goals? In addition, what sorts of benefits, risks, and policies do they entail?

Leaders require new tools to make better strategic decisions in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment. The World Economic Forum offers Strategic Intelligence as an engagement option to help you understand the global forces at play and make informed decisions that will have a positive impact on your organisation. The platform contributes to a range of SDGs, including Goals 9 and 17.
Elsevier,

Agricultural Internet of Things and Decision Support for Precision Smart Farming, 2020, Pages 1-33

This chapter explores how using technology and precision farming can improve yields while protecting the earth's resources, advancing SDGs 2 and 12.
Detailed information on research and development (R&D) spending of the private sector is very limited, particularly when the interest is on small and medium enterprises or focuses on companies active in multiple technology areas. This lack of data poses challenges on the robustness of quantitative analyses and, as a consequence, on the reliability of evidences needed, for example, to support policy-makers in policy design. This paper proposes a patent-based method to estimate R&D expenditure in the private sector.
Identification of methodologies for recycling laminated glass, especially the interlayer film, and their contextualization within the glass recycling field implicated an extensive patent search. During the last decade the technology centre L'Urederra exploited a methodology for recycling the poly-vinyl-butyral to be reused as interlayer in windscreens. Subsequent rounds of patents selection were aimed at identifying equivalent or innovative methodologies.
Elsevier,

Assistive Technologies (Fifth Edition): Principles & Practice, 2020, Pages 16-30

This chapter addresses SDGs 4 and 10 by offering a systematic process for ensuring the effective application of assistive technologies with a focus on the relationship between the human user and the assisted activity within specific contexts.
Elsevier,

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 116, December 2019

Nepal has been suffering from a serious energy crisis for decades. It has severely affected its economic, social and political developments. Owing to the continuously evolving energy situation in Nepal, and the recent progress in renewable energy technologies, this study aims to provide an up to date perspective on the current energy crisis in Nepal. In particular, the current energy production and consumption profiles are reviewed, and the main factors contributing to a widening gap between the energy supply and demand are identified.

This case study shows the contribution of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data to the Open Algorithms Initiative. It addresses how to unlock the potential of private sector data for public good purposed in a safe ethical, scalable and sustainable manner furthering goals 9 and 17.
Elsevier,

Fundamentals of Telemedicine and Telehealth, 2020, Pages 115-126

Discusses the universe of chronic disease and telehealth, from the patients’ perspective. The goal of SDG target 3.4.1 is to reduce the mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease.

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