Cutting-edge Technologies Key to Green Transition and Improved Water Access, PH Science Minister Tells UN
Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. (left), flanked by Philippine Permanent Representative to UN Geneva Evan P. Garcia (right), addresses the U.N. Commission on Science and Technology for Development. (Geneva PM photo)
GENEVA, 26 October 2022 – Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. highlighted the role of cutting-edge technologies in ensuring competitive production and in improving access to water and sanitation in an ongoing intersessional meeting of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) at the United Nations in Geneva on 25 October 2022.
The said meeting is exploring means to harness emerging technologies and innovative solutions to address climate change, reduce poverty, pursue post-pandemic recovery, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with particular focus on “creating the ecosystem for green technology and innovation.”
According to the CSTD Secretariat, current “technological waves” offer “a window of opportunity for developing countries to catch up technologically and narrow global divides.”
“In order to catch up with green transition, the Philippines has been putting in place necessary institutional frameworks and policies that would encourage key actors in society to subscribe to cleaner production through green technologies and innovation,” Secretary Solidum said, citing the role of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), and blockchain.
The international community must support national governments as they pursue strategies promoting green transition, including “incentivizing the users of green technologies through financial grants, subsidies, and tax reliefs to encourage them to produce more,” the Secretary said.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has been boosting academic and research and development (R&D) institutions across the Philippines through its Niche Centers in the Region for R&D. It also provides seed funds to upgrade technological capacities of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through its Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP).
Secretary Solidum also noted the role of AI and machine learning, as well as space-based infrastructure, in ensuring safe water and sanitation, which is the sixth SDG. The DOST, for instance, developed a simulation modeling software to enhance a private water management company’s capability in forecasting the water supply system in reservoirs.
Another example, the Secretary said, is “the use of satellite through the Remote Sensing and Data Science (DATOS) Project that developed a Geographic Information System-plugin to train and implement AI models to extract features from satellite imagery.”
“The technology uses the agency’s High-Performance Computing which can also be used by public users from academic institutions as well as government agencies,” the Secretary added.
Established in 1992 as a functional commission of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the CSTD provides the U.N. with high-level advice in addressing the critical challenges and harnessing the opportunities presented by rapid technological developments through analysis and policy recommendations. The Philippines is one of the CSTD’s forty-three Member States.
In its engagement with both UNCTAD and CSTD, the country has been emphasizing the need to ensure that developing countries are not left behind amidst rapid technological transformations. In his speech at the U.N. General Assembly this year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said such technological transformations pose both a challenge and opportunity. He cited science as among the solutions to the world’s transcendent challenges, including climate change and persistent inequities and inequality within and among countries.
In 2021, Technology and Innovation Report of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) cited the Philippines as the world’s second best “overperformers” in terms of harnessing frontier technologies for sustainable development.
Philippine Permanent Representative to the U.N. in Geneva Evan P. Garcia said Secretary Solidum’s participation in the CSTD intersessional panel, which is expected to submit findings and recommendation to the CSTD’s 26th Session in 2023, “demonstrates the Philippines’ commitment to finding solutions through science.” END
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