Can technology help us adapt to climate change?
Throughout centuries, technology has allowed humans to adapt to extreme weather conditions and changes in climate. Ancient Persian wind towers harnessed the breeze, directing it into homes to keep houses cool. First signs of irrigated farming dates back to 6000 B.C. when farmers would guide and store water for dry periods. Human ingenuity and capacity to adapt is vast and gives cause for optimism.
But the floods and droughts of the past are nothing like those of the present and the future. We are witnessing more frequent extreme weather events, on an increasingly densely populated planet. Uncontrolled emissions from human activities have put us on a “highway to climate hell”, as the UN Secretary General António Guterres warned us at last year’s climate conference. Countries are already reeling under the devastating impacts.
Last year, millions of people around the world were affected by deadly floods forcing them to leave their homes. Innovation and technology continue to play a vital role in saving lives, not least when it comes to detecting early signs of hazardous weather. Such warning systems help people prepare, evacuate or coordinate their efforts. The United Nations has now pledged global coverage of early warning systems in the next five years.
Beyond responding to immediate threats, technological solutions must keep up with the pace of change we are seeing. They must also respond to slow-onset disasters such as prolonged droughts and sea-level rise. The good news is that many climate adaptation technologies have been developed. The bad news is that they are not always accessible to those who need it the most.
Access to information is key
The level of awareness of adaptation measures differ between countries, but even more so between different actors and groups. Knowledge and awareness of available solutions can empower those struggling with the impacts of climate change and inspire action on a local level.
Adaptation technologies do not have to be shiny, digital or high-tech. They just have to make sense in the local or regional context; whether or not they are locally led solutions or large-scale infrastructure projects.
The Green Technology Book, launched by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), sheds light on the broad range of solutions out there. It showcases more than 200 concrete adaptation technologies from all over the world, focusing on the most crucial topics: agriculture and forestry, the water sector and coastal areas, and cities. The book has been made digital and is accessible to all, paving the way for increased efforts to turn climate policy into action.
Money makes adaptation go round
As always, funding remains a challenge. The Maldives is reportedly spending nearly a third of its national budget on ways to adapt to climate change. The diverse set of solutions that are needed do not come cheap.
It has been estimated that up to US$340 billion is needed to cover global adaptation costs annually by 2030. This is nearly 10 times higher than money spent on adaptation today — and the gap is widening. The paradox is that while adaptation technologies are costly, they could help avoid larger losses further down the line. With loss and damage high up on today’s agenda, a 2021 report found that tech-enabled solutions could potentially help to prevent USD 66 billion in loss and damage annually.
Adaptation can in fact be a sensible investment, and the private sector is waking up to this fact. For example, the technologies featured in the Green Technology Book show us that there can be many co-benefits related to energy generation and efficiency. In fact, there is not always a clear divide between mitigation (i.e. reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation.
In the Netherlands, a company is addressing the challenge of water scarcity by turning seawater into drinking water. This process, called desalination, normally requires large amounts of energy. The company is addressing the issue by using solar power, which also makes it suitable in remote areas and off-grid situations.
Adaptation technologies can save emissions in other ways. In Japan, a start-up is developing typhoon-proof wind turbines. By adapting wind turbines to extreme weather events, the technology could bring renewable energy to areas exposed to harsh weather conditions.
More importantly, adaptation technologies are massively important for food security. In India, a company is scaling up the use of their low-cost technology that combines water harvesting and irrigation. During monsoon season, water is guided and stored underground. It can then be reused on the farms during dry periods. In China, many years of research into developing climate-resistant rice has now led to massive rollout of ‘salt-tolerant rice’. This rice breed thrives better in salty soils- a problem that is otherwise made worse by climate change.
Barriers to technology access
The question remains: who can access these technologies? Looking at patent data, there is a clear gap between where adaptation technologies are developed and where the technologies are needed the most, with most development happening in the Global North and China. China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States together account for nearly two-thirds of all high-value adaptation inventions.
A country’s technological capabilities are determined in part by the effectiveness of its national innovation ecosystem. The WIPO Global Innovation Index paints the clearest picture: developed nations are leading the way when it comes to innovation, but many countries are also performing above expectation relative to their level of economic development, with India, Kenya and Viet Nam standing out.
Countries could import technologies from other countries through trade agreements, partnerships and technology transfer. Or simply through the sharing of knowledge and expertise, or intellectual property licensing on reasonable terms. But this requires many resources, including strong markets, institutions, laws and access to funding. Compared to technologies that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, few climate adaptation inventions are transferred across borders and most often they are transferred between high-income countries.
The ability to adapt to climate change is also strongly linked to vulnerability, with lower-income countries facing the heaviest barriers. For climate-vulnerable communities, climate technologies are not always affordable or accessible. This applies to individuals and nations alike.
For East African countries for example, weak institutional capacities can create major hurdles for accessing climate money. Either the minimum criteria needed to access the funds cannot be achieved- such as providing large sets of data going back years. Or there is a lack of capacity to develop good climate change projects.
Turning to nature
Increasingly, locally led solutions are recognized as the way forward for adaptation in many countries. Nature-based solutions, for example, are often rooted in the historical knowledge of local and indigenous peoples. Increasingly, solutions such as mangrove and coral reef restoration are seen as cost-effective approaches for coastal protection and building resilience against climate change.
Where seawalls are expensive and can destroy natural habitats, nature-based solutions can provide a positive contribution to ecosystems while at the same time protecting coasts, regulating temperatures, absorbing excess water and strengthening livelihoods.
Yet, there is still a strong preference for hard-engineered tools. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), nature-based solutions are severely underfunded and investments will need to triple to US$484 billion per year by 2030 to meet the challenges of biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change.
It is clear that we cannot adapt our way out of the climate crisis. And technology does not help us address the root causes of climate vulnerability. For this, we must make fundamental changes to the way we live, work, produce, and consume. Crucially, it also requires a strong focus on reduced inequalities and promotion of social and economic justice. Technologies only offer one set of tools in the toolbox. Yet, they invariably play an important role.
The world is calling for climate action. Many of the solutions that can help us adapt to climate change are already available. It is time to push for the political drive and financing needed to implement and scale-up these solutions- at the right place and in the right way.
The technologies mentioned here and many more can be found in the WIPO GREEN Database. The database is a public and free resource aiming to facilitate deployment of innovative and green technologies in the fight against climate change, food security and other global challenges.
Authors:
Shanar Tabrizi, Climate Technology Expert, World Intellectual Property Organization
Peter Oksen, Green Technology and Research Manager, World Intellectual Property Organization
