Page 11 - Frontier technologies to protect the environment and tackle climate change - Executive Summary

Frontier technologies to protect the environment and tackle climate change

Non-governmental organizations also need to increase their engagement on this topic,
performing a watchdog function.
• Regulation and cooperation: An effective regulatory environment and institutional
infrastructure is essential. Fostering international cooperation for the exchange of
technologies and innovation (particularly between developed countries and the rest of
the world), reducing barriers posed by restrictive intellectual property rights mechanisms,
and promoting ICT-related standards globally are some key specific ways in which frontier
technologies can be leveraged for the benefit of all.
• Be mindful of their limitations Frontier technologies can be a contributor to, and part of
the solution for climate change, but they do have an environmental impact at each stage of
their life cycle due to the energy consumed during their production, distribution and use,
and the associated GHG emissions. They need to be used as efficiently as possible in order
to fulfil their sustainability potential. Providing this double-edged nature is recognized
and accounted for by policy makers, a balance can be achieved wherein their potential in
helping to monitor, adapt to and mitigate climate change can be unlocked and optimally
leveraged to ensure tangible, measurable progress.
• Digital leapfrogging can be key: Leapfrogging, the notion that ‘areas which have poorly
developed technology or economic bases can move themselves forward rapidly through
the adoption of modern systems without going through intermediary steps,’ is taking
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place in many countries. Ethiopia, for example, has moved directly to hydropower to meet
its future energy needs, building the Grand Renaissance Dam, which, once completed,
will generate 6 000 MW of electricity, over four times Ethiopia’s current capacity. Although
hydropower, like many other clean energy technologies, is not a new technology, it is
certainly a significant disruptor within Ethiopia’s energy context, as well as that of other
countries nearby, enabling the country to leapfrog over coal as a major traditional energy
source, with some potential implications for water supply as well. Elsewhere, cities or
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countries may find themselves leapfrogging even when they have limited capacities to
access these technologies, ushering in more renewable cost-effective energy sources,
potentially bypassing traditional routes.
• Disruptive potential can be hindered by affordability and access: Harnessing the full
potential of frontier technologies can be hampered by factors ranging from lack of
infrastructure investment and un-modernized public utilities to a lack of appropriate
regulations and financial mechanisms and a population lacking the correct digital skills.
This gap, in terms of affordability of and access to frontier technologies, can be particularly
stark between developed and developing nations. There are ways to minimize this gap
by implementing policies aimed at limiting the socio-economic costs of adjustment at
the national, regional and city level - thus creating an environment attractive to investors
in which innovation can flourish - and by establishing training and learning programmes.
• Scaling frontier technologies is vital, in order to maximize impact and lower deployment
costs. Most deployments vary significantly in the level of interest, investment, scale and
complexity according to geography. Further research, processes and standardization
efforts are needed to identify successful-use cases of frontier technologies in the context
of climate change and response in order to eventually scale them nationally, regionally
and – ultimately – globally.
• Plan for the future, today. Even in instances where existing frontier technologies may
not yet offer solutions to the complex challenges faced at present, or those that are
expected to be faced in the future, the rapid pace of their advancement will likely result
in new or more effective frontier technology solutions appearing in future. Therefore, any

1 Leapfrog Soluciones Web. ‘Leapfrogging.’ Leapfrog Digital Strategies, leapfrog .cl/ en/ leapfrogging
2 Ramirez, Vanessa Bates. ‘Leapfrogging Tech Is Changing Millions of Lives. Here's How.’ Singularity Hub,
Singularity Education Group, 6 May 2018, singularityhub .com/ 2018/ 05/ 06/ leapfrogging -tech -is -changing
-millions -of -lives -heres -how/ #sm .001u2w1r513ugdrsslu1hejge7x0c
3 Diop, Makhtar. ‘Africa Can Enjoy Leapfrog Development.’ World Bank, World Bank Group, 11 Oct. 2017,
www .worldbank .org/ en/ news/ opinion/ 2017/ 10/ 11/ africa -can -enjoy -leapfrog -development

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