Emerging technologies are essential to fasten SDGs, but this shouldn’t come at the expense of prudence and careful evaluation.
When the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, were conceived
back in 2012, blockchain technology was in its early days. Few could
have foreseen the trajectory and the potential of blockchain for
advancing these ambitious targets.
But today, we see opportunities
for blockchain technology to recast conventional approaches to
sustainable development — and accelerate progress if deployed
responsibly.
Macro trends of 2020
There are a number of
macro trends this year in the world of blockchain and sustainable
development that provide context. This has been — and will continue to
be — an important year for laying the groundwork for major disruptors
like digital currency and digital identity.
The trajectory of
blockchain technology, in some ways, chimes with that of its
predecessors. Following buzz around ambitious aims such as financial
inclusion and data ownership, there has been limited work to define what
this means and looks like. In fact, if risks and benefits are not
carefully evaluated, there is potential for widening existing gaps or
the exploitation of vulnerable populations.
Related: Financial inclusion, cryptocurrency and the developing world
It has been encouraging to see momentum toward defining and self-regulating around user protection, such as the Global Digital Finance Code and the Presidio Principles,
but it’s important that these conversations stay grounded in the
realities of consumer protection, infrastructure capabilities, and the
influence of politics and cultural notions to ensure that the technology
is able to meaningfully contribute to sustainable development aims.
Related: Blockchain digital ID — Putting people in control of their data
While some organizations such as the Human Rights Foundation and American Red Cross
have long-accepted cryptocurrency donations, we have seen an increase
in the number of players looking at digital currency as an avenue for
financing the SDGs. For instance, the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund announced its largest round of investments this year, and a number of platforms have been supporting a crypto version of Giving Tuesday for some time.
Related: The future of philanthropy lies in blockchain technology
As
conversations around central bank digital currencies and stablecoins
pick up, so are those on how digital currency may be a tool for direct
aid delivery, as we’ve seen with the World Food Programme’s Building Blocks project, which uses blockchain technology to authenticate and register transactions.
There
has also been a sustained focus on digital identity as a key enabler of
the SDGs. While many of these efforts are in early stages — like the recently-launched PayID
that brought together a number of industry leaders — this will
certainly be a space to watch as a foundational element for future
progress.
A closer look: Three areas of focus
- Building resilient and transparent supply chains.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 9 states:
“Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.”
As widely reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted
the challenges and vulnerabilities in global supply chains, increasing
calls for transparency and traceability. In response, we’ve seen several
initiatives investigating — or accelerating existing investigations —
into blockchain technology to meet these needs.
Central to
everything from global trade to aid delivery, supply chains are an
important component of the sustainable development equation. Blockchain
technology for supply chain use cases has reflected this variety. For
instance, multi-national development banks such as the Asian Development
Bank and Inter-American Development Bank are investigating the use of
blockchain for trade single window projects in South Asia and Latin America, respectively.
Related: Empowering supply chain digital transformation with distributed ledgers
StaTwig, an India-based company and graduate of the UNICEF Innovation Fund, has piloted
the use of blockchain technology to track vaccine delivery in an
eastern state. Anheuser-Busch InBev, a multinational drink and brewing
company, piloted
the technology in Zambia to facilitate transparency in pricing around
locally sourced crops such as cassava, for which farmers had been
historically underpaid.
However, challenges remain. Effectively
rethinking global supply chains requires unprecedented cooperation among
industry players and careful consideration of elements such as
interoperability and data integrity.
- Creating stronger and more accountable public institutions.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 16 states:
“Promote
peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive
institutions at all levels.”
Public procurement is one
of the largest sources of government spending and, relatedly, the
greatest source of official corruption worldwide. The complexity,
relative opacity and subjectivity involved contribute to a large amount
of wasted money. To increase external oversight, the government of
Colombia undertook a proof-of-concept for a blockchain-based
procurement system. While the technology alone is not enough, it can be
a powerful tool when partnered with “monitorship” models, such as those
established by Transparency International or the Partnership for Transparency Fund.
Related: Bribery gets blocked: Stamping out corruption with blockchain tech
In addition, tax administration can be an important tool or a barrier when it comes to domestic targets for the SDGs. According
to the World Bank, “30 of the 75 poorest countries collect less than
15% of GDP in taxes” — a critical threshold for providing basic
services. The Prosperity Collaborative,
a coalition of several public and private-sector actors, is examining
how open-source technologies, including blockchain, may have a role to
play in public finance.
- Spurring responsible sourcing and consumption.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12 states:
“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.”
As
climate change and human rights are at the forefront of consumers’
minds, responsible consumption has become a critical area of focus for
many businesses.
This year, we’ve seen blockchain technology at
the center of many of these conversations. For example, the Mining and
Metals Blockchain Initiative launched last year and was brought together
by seven industry heavyweights, including De Beers and Eurasian
Resources Group, to explore the use of blockchain technology to track carbon emissions and supply chain transparency. Around the same time, the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network brought together automotive players including Ford and Volkswagen to pilot the use of blockchain for the ethical sourcing of minerals.
source link : https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-un-s-decade-of-delivery-needs-blockchain-to-succeed
