What is the human cost of the green & digital transitions?

The buzz around the twin transitions of the 21st century has been steadily growing louder and louder. Just as Covid seemed to be taking a backseat, COP26 brought the issue of the green transition back to the forefront. While the outcomes of the Glasgow summit have been met with varying degrees of cynicism and enthusiasm, there is little doubt that sooner or later, the world will shift to sustainable production methods aided by rapid advancements in technology.

There is, however, an elephant in the room here, and it’s one that if left unaddressed could render hollow the enthusiastic chatter and grandiose speeches made by politicians and business leaders at global summits. Or to put it in the words of everyone’s favourite teenage curmudgeon Greta Thunberg, still more “blah blah blah”.

It is an issue that has dogged humanity since the first Industrial Revolution and one that neither of the subsequent industrial revolutions, despite promises to the contrary, has managed to set right. It is a burning, yet uncomfortable question that could undermine the legitimacy of the entire fourth industrial revolution and one that carves close to the bone when it comes to the west’s imperial past: How do we ensure that the world's poorest are not left behind again as the rest of us make the transition?

Realising the mistakes of the past is one thing, but resolving them is quite another. The subject has also become drawn into the so-called culture wars in western countries, further complicating what is, or at least should be, one of the most pertinent issues of our time.

Read more: GMIS2021: Zero-carbon tech can deliver COP26 goals, says Dubai Industries CEO

On the sidelines of GMIS2021 in Dubai, IE spoke to Joshua Phoho Setipa, the Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (UNTBLDC), to get some insights into a problem that is just not being discussed.

Established in 2018, the UNTBLDC’s mission is to enhance the scientific, technological and innovative capabilities for sustainable development in the world’s 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), as well as former LDCs for five years after graduating from the category.

"There was a realisation that unless there was a deliberate effort to provide dedicated support to a set of countries, the gap between them and the rest of the world, technologically speaking, would continue widening. Despite numerous initiatives, despite the resources that have been made available, they were falling through the cracks," explained Setipa.

"So, the UNTBLDC was created to mobilise support for these countries to help them plug the holes around science, technology, and innovation, help them understand where the gaps are in their policy framework and how to address them, and to understand how they can enhance the ecosystems around innovation.

"We engage with partners across the spectrum. We work with the private sector because innovation resides primarily there. We work with academia to focus on specific areas for research, whether it's financial inclusion, or creating a system for venture capital. We also work with research facilities to build such capacity. Last year, we trained around 3,500 researchers and we continue to provide that support. We also work with governments to help them rationalise their approach to science, technology and development, and to identify priorities, thus streamlining the process."

Read more: African onshore wind is at less than 1% of its potential

With some LDCs still struggling with First Industrial Revolution issues, perhaps it is less an issue of how to catch up and more one of how to leverage these countries' latecomer status to leapfrog to digitalisation and green tech. Not only would this avoid the need to invest in heavily polluting industries - just when the rest of the world is moving away from them - but it would enable them to compete on an even platform with more developed countries. 

In Africa's case, demographics are on its side. By far the youngest continent with a median age of 19.7 in 2020, Africa's youth makes it well placed to leapfrog technologically, but much still stands in the way of that potential.

Tangiable progress is held back by a range of issues, from food security to climate mitigation to inclusive growth to green tech and the energy transition. These issues are central, not only to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals but also to helping LDCs develop. 

Central to each of them all, however, is financing. While several high-profile global commitments have been made and significant resources have been loudly pledged, the question as to how much of that money has gone to the countries becomes obfuscated.

"Sitting here today, I can tell you that very little money has made it," Setipa said. "When you talk to those countries, they will tell you that to access those resources is almost impossible because of the administrative hoops that they have to jump through and the preconditions that they have to comply with. It just doesn't add up. The reality is that accessibility has not been as smooth as everyone expected.

"We can definitely do better in tracking in monitoring and assessing impact, but until we can track every dollar and see where it's trickling down to, we can never know, and it remains a declaration and nothing more."

Read more: G7 nations spend more on fossil fuels than clean energy despite pledges, report finds

Putting the money issues to one side, the issue of the human impact that the green transition is already having tends to get drowned out in a busy news cycle. It is no secret that many of the minerals needed to power our smart devices and electric vehicles come from some of the poorest LDCs. 

For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the world's wealthiest countries in terms of untapped resources and the world's largest source of cobalt. In 2019, around 70% of global mined cobalt came from the central African country, with demand set to rise rapidly. However, despite this untapped wealth, the DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world. An estimated 73% of the population - around 60 million people - are living on less than $1.90 a day.

Against this backdrop, reports of the use of child labour in the so-called "artisanal mines" in the southern DRC region of Katanga continue to surface. 

"The global governance system around sustainable extraction or exploitation of natural resources needs to be given teeth. There has to be a capacity for enforcement to ensure compliance. The multinationals that extract these minerals should be held accountable. It's a form of corruption," he says.

"You focus on the demand side, which is absolutely correct. But you forget that it takes two. So the companies that are extracting also have a responsibility. I'm not even trying to get governments off the hook. But if we can enforce that responsibility of the companies that are conducting those operations, then I think we can begin to see the emergence of much more transparent and compliant mining practices. As long as no questions are asked about the origins of a product, abuses will continue."

Read more: 5 tech giants sued over use of child labour in Congolese cobalt mines

However, he is also quick to highlight the shared responsibility that should exist between an LDC's government and those companies operating within its jurisdiction. He points to cases where obsolete technologies that are no longer compliant with environmental or industrial standards are being sold to LDCs in desperate need of investment, by countries and companies keen to divest as they upgrade. The responsibility here, he argues, lies with both sides.

One of the platforms that Joshua Setipa believes can help change the situation going into the future, is the African Union. "Through the AU, we can make a unified political effort around enforcing standards and ensure that Africa is not turned into a dumping ground for substandard technologies."

"It has a very important role to play. It's always been important as a platform to mobilise African political coherence and drive common positions. And from an economic perspective, the EU is a very important stakeholder in this process."

While the problem is unquestionably rooted in systematic historic injustices, Setipa believes that poor African leadership has also played a large role in creating many of the problems the continent faces today.

"I'm not a big fan of blaming our misfortunes solely on the Europeans. Yes, they messed up Africa. But that makes it a good time to decide our future for ourselves. To establish what is good and what is not good for us. We need to ask ourselves why are we still making the same mistakes that we made before."

With all that said, is leapfrogging ahead to the Fourth Industrial Revolution realistic for the world's least developed countries?

"Without financing, it will be very difficult, but I think leapfrogging is the best way to go. Otherwise, the journey will remain long and difficult."

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