This paper discusses how new technologies can contribute to achieving climate change goals in
developing countries, focusing on how emerging and exponential technologies can support, and
potentially accelerate, the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement within the broader context of low-carbon, climate-resilient development. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) – the dynamic economic transformation now under way, driven by disruptive new technologies and business models – is projected to affect many production and
consumption systems, with far-reaching implications for the environment, economies and society.
Building on the Third Industrial Revolution (3IR) – which began with personal computing, expanded to
mobile phones and the Internet, and has reshaped entire sectors of the economy – the 4IR is expected to have similarly broad impacts, including profound economic impacts over the coming decades. Emerging 4IR technologies include advanced materials, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, big data, cloud computing and the Internet of things, as well as other new digital technologies. The advancement of these technologies will bring about a period of technology-driven change that is of unprecedented speed, scope and scale. This will correspond with efforts to implement the Paris Agreement and other climate change strategies, and to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals.
