Green technology initiatives are growing globally, and climate change is pushing for innovation as soon as possible. Experts forecast the future to consist of intensified weather events, leading to serious disruptions in the business sector. Rising temperatures translate into wildfires, droughts, floods, and tropical cyclones, and there’s no way to stop them.
However, there are ways to slow climate change so humanity has time to adapt. One of the most impactful methods includes technology, which is our best ally in changing agriculture and infrastructure and protecting ecosystems.
Green tech is approached by multinationals that want to minimise their greenhouse carbon footprint, such as Apple, whose ambitious environmental goals have cut greenhouse gas emissions in half since 2015. Using recycled sources for cobalt, recycled copper, and fibre-based plastic, Apple sets the bar high for future sustainability in tech.
Here’s what the future will look like for green tech.
Green tech classification
Green technology focuses on four categories:
- Renewable energy sources: technological innovations allow us to leverage the power of solar, wind, and geothermal resources;
- Sustainable transportation: manufacturers create electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to offset the effects of burning fuel in conventional cars;
- Waste management and recycling: mechanical recycling and choosing different types of waste compactors and balers you can find on Miltek Denmark can also contribute to efficient waste management;
- Energy-efficient solutions: waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies use waste treatment processes to create energy as electricity or heat;
Hence, we can say that green tech approaches a circular economy in which we minimise the impact of manufacturing on nature. This method can help us facilitate the transition from wasteful to cleaner energy production so companies can be both efficient and sustainable.
How does green tech contribute to the world?
Technology pioneers sustainability by eliminating slow and unnecessary business tasks. On the other hand, green tech prepares future societies by adapting their surroundings through architectural changes.
Some of the best green tech innovations include the following:
- Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) traps CO2 emissions and stores/utilises them;
- C40 Cities adopt eco-friendly initiatives in urban planning in places like Copenhagen;
- Electric vehicles grow in popularity as they reduce the need for fossil fuels;
- Biomimicry creates water-repellent materials and energy-efficient structures;
- Plant-based packaging uses renewable biological sources, such as bioplastics, to reduce plastic;
- Vertical farming stacks crops vertically to save space and use less water than traditional farming;
Green tech challenges
While green technology is trending and more companies are adopting it, several issues hinder its full potential. For example, the high initial costs of adopting greener alternatives and innovative technologies are the first to put a stop to sustainable initiatives. Solar panels and wind turbines tend to be expensive, and installation is also pretty costly.
At the same time, the world’s technological limitations are not helping innovative startups. Few countries can pride themselves on adopting the latest technological advancements, meaning the power of sustainability is limited and will slowly expand.
Moreover, regulatory and policy hurdles impede innovators’ ability to sustain their creations for the long term. The world’s inconsistent regulations on green energy and waste management confuse companies and users who already struggle with change.
Finally, consumer behaviour and market acceptance are the most difficult to deal with because changing trends affect customers’ decision-making and preferences. Businesses have to adapt to these unstable variants and create new products as fast as possible, leading to waste generation.
What will green tech look like in the future?
While today’s green technology strategies lack the power to make an impact, experts believe the future will bring significant innovations bridging technology and sustainability. 2030 and 2050 are usually the regular time frames in which we expect changes to show.
For example, the European Commission has 2030 climate targets to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions in energy, transport and taxation policies. The International Energy Agency (IEA) also plans to make renewable energy 95% of the global power capacity by 2050 through solar panels, offshore wind farms and more technology-based advancements.
We also expect electrical vehicles (EVs) to grow substantially by 2040, making up more than half of passenger vehicle sales. Therefore, the transportation sector will be close to reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly.
Finally, we should be able to switch to a circular economy soon, in which we efficiently manage resources and waste. Based on a model of reusing, repairing, remanufacturing and recycling, this economic model could contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2050.
Will AI and ML help in achieving sustainability?
As two of the fastest emerging technologies right now, artificial intelligence and machine learning should be used to reach a sustainable and safer future. Experts believe that, in the right hands, AI could accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For example, AI can improve healthcare and education. AI models can use image recognition to diagnose certain illnesses and diseases, helping patients benefit from accurate diagnoses. At the same time, AI-powered tools can enhance personalised learning. AI could also contribute to eradicating poverty by predicting potentially vulnerable populations so social protection programs could act faster and better.
On the other hand, machine learning has the potential to make good use of all the data available online in the sectors of water resource management, energy efficiency, and sustainable agriculture. ML algorithms could improve resource depletion, urban planning, and socioeconomic disparities through data-driven technologies.
However, these technologies need more research and advanced personal knowledge to be truly efficient. For now, AI is known for its biased decision-making and lack of information based on the datasets it receives. At the same time, machine learning is inefficient when the data introduced is of poor quality, or the data training is underfitting.
What do you think about green tech?
The green technologies sector is an emerging solution for combating climate change while adopting innovation. Through renewable energy resources, proper waste management, and waste-to-energy tools, society can slow down climate change and have the time to adapt to a new life. Unfortunately, the lack of proper regulation and technological limitations hinder progress. Still, we hope for a future in which global power comes from renewable resources only and EVs are preferred to traditional cars.
