Making the Case for Technological Justice in the Climate Conversation

By Cally Salter
February 2021

For every Marvel fan, the kingdom of Wakanda is immediately recognizable. Hidden amongst the verdant African plains, Wakanda is home to silver skyscrapers and futuristic buildings. The all-female warrior class protect King T’Challa. The king’s sister Shuri invents high-tech equipment in an underground lab. Unsurprisingly, Wakanda is regarded as the most technologically and socially advanced nation on Earth.

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Back in the real world, many obstacles stand in the way of the green technological utopia. Let’s start with the premise that climate change is fundamentally unequal. Economically advanced countries have contributed most to rising carbon emissions. Yet developing countries often bear the brunt. We see it every day in the news from rising sea levels in Indonesia to extended drought in Sudan.

Lower levels of infrastructure and technology further hinders developing countries in their fight against climate change. A G20 conference in 2018 argued that whilst technological and scientific developments contribute towards tackling social inequality, the benefits are not distributed equally[1]. The concept of technological justice was summarily proposed to address the world’s greatest challenges.

Explaining The Digital Divide

A report commissioned by the UN in 2018 stated that the digital divide between developing and developed countries remain far too wide.[2] At the point of asking, over half of the global population have access to the internet. But whilst that number hovers around 80% for Europeans, it remains less than 25% in Sub‑Saharan Africa. The internet penetration rate is 87% in developed countries, but only 47% in developing countries and 19% in the least developed countries. During the Coronavirus, the shortage of reliable and affordable internet access is only further exacerbated.[3]

The digital divide is not just found between developing and developed countries. It also disproportionately affects women over men. In 2019, women in the US make up just 26% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Of that total number, Asian women account for 7%. African American women make up 35 whilst Hispanic women come in at 2%. [4] Despite a seemingly never-ending conversation about the lack of diversity in tech, these statistic makes clear that the technological gender gap is not narrowing fast enough.

Education and Investment

So how do we bridge the technological divide? Like most things, education is a promising starting point. It is essential to promote digital skills and literacy across every level of education. Offering STEM subjects will help school children to easily navigate the digital world. Increased emphasis must go towards education in developing countries. Here, the G2O research proposes that the transfer of digital knowledge can come through global schemes – think a global technological Erasmus – to increase knowledge.

Alongside education, investment is the other great leveller. You often hear people say robots will take our jobs. Greater levels of investment will help train and retain the workforce so that young and old don’t stand to be disadvantaged. As discussed with education, investment in technology and infrastructure should be supported through global cooperation. In many cases, developing countries cannot access technological markets whether that’s perceived through unfair trade regimes or tougher financial measures.[2] The production and distribution of digitalised goods and services must be fairly regulated so as to not become a barrier to free trade and innovation.

Finally, in terms of research and investment, the explosion of green technologies will be a major weapon in the fight to slow down and reverse the effects of climate change. Without equal access to these emerging and established technologies, it is easy to see how citizens and countries from developing countries will be left behind. This encompasses everything from water treatment to energy storage. Picture a green energy grid primarily powered by solar panels and wind turbines? Imagine smart cities which reduces traffic and monitors water consumption across every household. These innovations are not just for a select few but should be accessible for all.   

Where Next?

Every technological advancement brings risk and opportunity. It has the potential to be the solution or the problem to many problems in society – and there’s no telling which way the pendulum will swing. The concept of technological justice must therefore act as a guiding principle to overcome the digital divide. As our technological capacities increase, innovation and technology should directly link to justice and equality. Throughout the developing and the developed world, we must foster technological innovation with social and sustainable value at its core.

The green techtopia of Wakanda might be lifted out of the comic books. But the vision of a technological, sustainable and equitable utopia doesn’t have to be. Technological justice must become a crucial strand within climate justice to ensure every citizen of every nation will have the tools to equip themselves for the long fight ahead.

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