Annotated Bibliography: The Role of Technology in Addressing Climate Change

This annotated bibliography examines academic literature on the relationship between technology and efforts to address climate change. The focus is on evaluating the role established and emerging technology and technological sectors can play in supporting mitigation and adaptation efforts. The sources covered were published between 2019 and 2024 and represent a range of perspectives from different regions on harnessing innovation to counter climate risks. This bibliography aims to survey and analyze recent research that assesses the opportunities and challenges faced in maximizing technology's potential to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen climate resilience. Annotations provide high-level summaries and discuss each work's significance and contributions to furthering understanding of how responsible technology development and deployment can help achieve climate stabilization targets. Key issues addressed include the climate impacts of specific innovations, paths for decarbonizing heavy industry, policy frameworks for enabling green R&D, and interactions between technological change and social equity. By mapping this scholarly landscape, the bibliography aims to help inform further action and identify questions warranting additional investigation.

Du, K., Li, P., & Yan, Z. (2019). Do green technology innovations contribute to carbon dioxide emission reduction? Empirical evidence from patent data. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146, 297–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.06.010

Du et al. examine the effect of green technology innovations on carbon dioxide emissions, as measured by environment-related patent counts, using an unbalanced panel dataset of 71 economies from 1996 to 2012. Through fixed effects models with exogenous sample segmentation by income, they initially find no overall significant impact of green patents but find they reduce CO2 for high-income countries. To endogenously determine regimes, the authors estimate panel threshold models, identifying a threshold level for the per capita output ratio corresponding to $34,694 GDP per capita. Below this threshold, green patents have no impact on CO2 emissions, but above it, they significantly reduce emissions. Additional findings confirm an inverted-U environmental Kuznets curve relationship between per capita GDP and CO2 and significant roles for variables like urbanization, industrial structure, trade openness, and energy consumption composition. This study provides novel quantitative evidence on how green innovation impacts may differ depending on national income levels, finding that transition between regimes occurs only at a highly high-income threshold. The results have implications for policymaking seeking to reduce emissions.

Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., Kar, A. K., Baabdullah, A. M., Grover, P., Abbas, R., Andreini, D., Abumoghli, I., Barlette, Y., Bunker, D., Chandra Kruse, L., Constantiou, I., Davison, R. M., De’, R., Dubey, R., Fenby-Taylor, H., Gupta, B., He, W., Kodama, M., & Mäntymäki, M. (2022). Climate change and COP26: Are digital technologies and information management part of the problem or the solution? An editorial reflection and call to action. International Journal of Information Management, 63(63), 102456. ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2021.102456

This editorial article reflects on the role of digital technologies and information management in addressing climate change issues ahead of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). While technologies can potentially deliver solutions to climate challenges, their widespread use also contributes negatively through waste production, resource usage, and emissions. After reviewing literature highlighting the IT sector's positive and negative environmental impacts, the article invites multiple perspectives from expert contributors on related topics. It includes sections discussing how digital technologies can mitigate climate impacts through applications like innovative energy systems and negatively impact the environment through e-waste and high-energy uses. The expert narratives explore issues like user engagement tools to increase climate-friendly behaviors, responsible digitalization, and approaches to reduce technology’s carbon footprint. The discussion concluded that while technology will be integral to climate solutions, its adoption requires consideration of sustainability trade-offs during the transition to low-carbon systems. The editorial calls for more research at the intersection of digital technologies and the climate crisis from diverse viewpoints to help maximize IT’s contributions.

Imran, S., Biggs, P., Ip, C., Bueti, C., Roll, G., Figueiredo, A., Godoi, G. C. D. S., Anllo, G., Hertoghs, M., Wahl, S., Motard, S., Kibret, W. A., Maletjane, M., Oehmen, D., Amoroso-Garbin, J., Purcell , P., Lewis-Lettington, R., Mayr, M., Suri, S. N., & Ives-Keeler, K. (2020). Frontier technologies to protect the environment and tackle climate change. https://www.itu.int/en/action/environment-and-climate-change/Documents/frontier-technologies-to-protect-the-environment-and-tackle-climate-change.pdf

This report, published in 2020, explores how emerging frontier technologies can help address climate change and environmental protection. It was researched and written collaboratively by ITU, UNESCO, UN Environment, UNFCCC, UNGC, UNIDO, UN-Habitat, UN Women, and UNECE experts. The report defines frontier technologies as new and innovative disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, 5G, clean energy, digital twins, robotics, space technologies, and digitalization/Big Data. It examines real-world applications of these technologies in areas such as reducing air and water pollution, managing energy and water infrastructure, increasing disaster resilience, monitoring biodiversity and climate impacts, and boosting agricultural efficiency. Specific examples discussed include using AI to reduce air pollution and manage e-waste, deploying IoT for innovative energy grid management, utilizing 5G for intelligent water supply networks, employing renewable energy tech to cut fossil fuel use, developing digital twins for disaster planning, utilizing robotics to monitor underwater climate impacts and marine life, and leveraging space tech and Big Data for precision monitoring of ice sheets and caps. The report concludes that these frontier technologies offer innovative solutions that can meet human needs while addressing environmental challenges if deployed at scale. It calls for public-private partnerships and investments to ensure continued progress and widespread proliferation of these solutions to combat climate change and environmental degradation globally and locally.

Matos, S., Viardot, E., Sovacool, B. K., Geels, F. W., & Xiong, Y. (2022). Innovation and climate change: A review and introduction to the special issue. Technovation, p. 117, 102612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2022.102612

Matos et al. provide an overview of past research at the intersection of innovation studies and climate change in this article. They conduct bibliometric and network analyses of over 800 papers published between 1990 and 2021 in top innovation and technology management journals. Their findings suggest that research activity in this area has significantly increased since the mid-2000s, with thematically clustered work on climate change mitigation, empirical analysis of low-carbon technologies, and sustainability transitions. The authors categorize past literature into four themes: using innovation to enable climate adaptation/mitigation and promote stakeholder involvement; shaping transition processes through policy and management; experimenting, learning, and adoption; and evaluating technological/transition effectiveness. A review of highly cited works demonstrates that these themes have drawn from transitions theory and analytical frameworks involving the interplay of technologies, organizations, policies, and social practices over time. Matos et al. conclude that more interdisciplinary research is needed, blending technological and behavioral aspects of change. Future work should also examine sociotechnical drivers of accelerated transitions and the role of digital technologies in climate solutions and management challenges. This introduction comprehensively maps prior innovation and climate change research to help identify remaining gaps and guide productive new inquiries.

Monaco, S. (2023). Climate (of) change: The promise and perils of technology in achieving a just transition. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 43(13/14), pp. 129–145. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijssp-01-2023-0023

In this article, Monaco examines the intersection of technology, justice, and achieving a just transition in addressing climate change. The author analyzes how technological change can exacerbate or mitigate social inequities in distributing advantages and opportunities. Monaco notes that while new technologies offer potential benefits for sustainability goals through areas like renewable energy and carbon removal, they also present environmental and social risks if not implemented equitably. The rise of digital technologies is increasing skills inequality and polarization of jobs. There are also growing equity concerns regarding access to infrastructure and skills needed to participate in the new economy. Monaco argues for a holistic approach that balances environmental, economic, and social priorities to ensure a just transition. A just transition framework is needed to ensure no groups are disadvantaged in the shift to sustainability. The article also examines case studies of green entrepreneurship using platforms and innovations but notes these also present challenges like unfair competition if not adequately regulated. Communities like Transition Towns that empower local, sustainable solutions through social engagement are discussed as examples of just transition in action. The author emphasizes that technology must be part of more extensive systemic reforms, coupling innovations with policies, collective action, and social equity.

Nylund, P. A., Brem, A., & Agarwal, N. (2021). Enabling technologies mitigating climate change: The role of dominant designs in environmental innovation ecosystems. Technovation, 102271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2021.102271

This article analyzes how specific technologies can enable further innovation in climate change mitigation. The authors construct a conceptual framework focusing on environmental technologies and their emergence as enabling technologies within innovation ecosystems. Through patent citation analysis of over 13,000 climate change mitigation patents, they examine how characteristics like complementarity, complexity, and collaborative development relate to a technology's potential to enable subsequent innovations. Their analysis indicates that more complex technologies developed collaboratively tend to be stronger enablers. However, collaborative technologies are less likely to become firmly established as dominant designs that drive further innovation. The findings have practical implications. Government agencies and investors can direct funding toward innovations most apt to significantly impact climate change by comparing technologies' enabling potentials. Meanwhile, managers and policymakers can foster the development of climate solutions by encouraging traits the study found conducive to enabling further progress, such as complex, complementary solutions developed through diverse partnerships. Overall, the research contributes insights into how certain environmental technologies can galvanize wider technological and ecosystem advances essential to mitigating the climate crisis.

Sovacool, B. K., Griffiths, S., Kim, J., & Bazilian, M. (2021). Climate change and industrial F-gases: A critical and systematic review of developments, sociotechnical systems, and policy options for reducing synthetic greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, p. 141, 110759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.110759

This article critically reviews over 140,000 sources to evaluate mitigation pathways for potent industrial fluorinated gases (F-gases). These synthetic greenhouse gases like HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and NF3 proliferate in industrial and consumer applications. The review examines how technical solutions and innovations could make usage of F-gases low-carbon or zero-carbon, thereby curbing climate impacts. It applies a "sociotechnical lens" to explore entire lifecycles and finds that developing energy-efficient refrigeration and air conditioning alternatives could double mitigation potential when paired with policy. The paper also notes that constraining non-CO2 gases becomes more pressing if carbon dioxide removal technologies are realized, highlighting F-gases' importance. Details on the climate impacts, usage fragmentation, and atmospheric persistence of F-gases reinforce the need for technological substitutions. Examples given include potential alternative refrigerants, blowing agents, and etching gases. The extensive analysis aims to inform long-term mitigation strategies as technology development and innovation are viewed as critical enablers for transitioning industrial processes away from high-GWP F-gases toward lower-carbon solutions. By examining the role of technical solutions across sectors dependent on F-gases, the review reveals pathways through which climate impacts could be curtailed by substituting existing applications and developing new industrial technologies.

Youssef, A. B. (2020). How can Industry 4.0 contribute to combatting climate change? Revue d’Économie Industrielle, 169, 161–193. https://doi.org/10.4000/rei.8911

In this article, Adel Ben Youssef from the Université Côte d’Azur analyzes how Industry 4.0 can potentially contribute to combating climate change. The author begins by outlining the climate change warnings from the IPCC and noting that the industrial sector accounts for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. Youssef then discusses the core technologies of Industry 4.0, including IoT, big data analytics, cyber-physical systems, and additive manufacturing. The article distinguishes between the size and direction of technological change and argues that Industry 4.0’s technological advancement needs to be steered towards sustainability goals. Youssef also examines how Industry 4.0 aims to advance the triple bottom line of sustainability through environmental, social, and economic impacts. Specific opportunities discussed include energy efficiency gains, waste reduction, adoption of circular economy principles, job changes stemming from new skills demands, and economic benefits such as productivity increases. Overall, the article provides a qualitative analysis of how implementing Industry 4.0 strategies and technologies could help decarbonize industry and reduce climate change impacts if guided in a sustainable direction. It considers perspectives relevant for both developed and developing countries undergoing industrialization.

Cowls, J., Tsamados, A., Taddeo, M., & Floridi, L. (2021). The AI gambit: Leveraging artificial intelligence to combat climate change—opportunities, challenges, and recommendations. AI & SOCIETY, 38(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01294-x

Artificial intelligence is one of the most impactful emerging technologies poised to significantly impact all aspects of human life, including climate change efforts. This article analyzes the role that artificial intelligence (AI) could play in combating climate change by identifying opportunities and challenges. The authors find that AI offers two significant opportunities to improve and expand understanding of climate change through processing vast climate datasets. Second, to help respond to climate change through applications like improving energy efficiency. However, developing AI also raises risks. It can compound problems with AI, such as bias and the loss of personal control. It also poses a problem as a source of greenhouse gasses because of the enormous computational power required. The authors assess the environmental impact of AI and state that there is insufficient evidence concerning emissions reduced by the employment of AI and emissions from AI development. It also offers recommendations to assist policymakers and researchers in harnessing AI's benefits with minimum risks of jeopardizing the environment. The article gives a general view of the field of climate change and outlines the optimistic and cautious perspectives on utilizing AI. It is intended to guide policy decisions on tackling the problem of developing and deploying AI ethically and sustainably in fighting the climate crisis.

Conclusion

This annotated bibliography has offered critical discussions of the most recent scholarly articles assessing the impact of technology in combating and responding to climate change. The sources covered have included various sectors and types of technology in established and innovative markets, such as energy, manufacturing, and emerging technologies with artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and advanced materials. The key topics discussed include strategies for reducing carbon emissions, policies and regulations, social and economic effects of measures to address climate change, and system-level approaches to environmental solutions. While some technologies show promise for reducing emissions and strengthening resilience if scaled sustainably, the literature also acknowledges challenges like emissions from development and risks of inequitable change. More research is required at the intersection of climate and technological advancement to unlock technology's full potential for climate action and support a fair transition. This mapping of the scholarly landscape is intended to point scholars toward more fruitful lines of inquiry regarding how technology could be best leveraged to support climate stabilization objectives.