The Futures Fair for Business and Finance convened by the Geneva Rethinking Finance Collaborative (GRFC) on 19 December 2024, aimed to illuminate the transformative potential of digitalisation and address the critical behavioural challenges hindering sustainable development. This chapter encapsulates the key discussions and insights from this dynamic event, focusing on bridging digital divides, unlocking digital dividends, and confronting the ecological overshoot driven by human behaviour.
Digitalisation: Greed on Steroids? Unlocking Impact Through Responsible Technology
The event commenced with a keynote address by Grant Lenaarts, Founder/CEO of Multilateral Group, on “Digitalisation – Greed on Steroids (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).” Lenaarts challenged the audience to consider the dual nature of digitalisation, acknowledging its potential for both immense progress and significant harm. He emphasised that the defining opportunity for investors in digital infrastructure lies in aligning technology with the triple or quadruple bottom line, focusing on impact.
- Digitalisation, when responsibly managed, can be a powerful enabler for accelerated action at scale, benefiting communities, villages, cities, and towns.
- Bridging digital divides and increasing digital dividends are crucial for ensuring sustainable livelihoods, particularly for young people.
- There is a pressing need for more transparent management of digitalisation globally, with public funding and blended finance directed towards achieving the SDGs and climate goals.
- The science and technology dividend must be extended to lower-income and “least developed” economies and societies.
Digital Dividends: Exemplars of Integrative Approaches
The “Digital Dividends” panel explored practical examples of how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be leveraged for sustainable development.
- Dr. Krzysztof Gorlich of IQSell presented APPETiT, a multi-purpose platform designed to democratise access and ownership.
- Kim Russell from the Stump Jump Foundation emphasised the importance of “local capacity” and “accountability” in ICT4D initiatives.
- Michele Patierno from AxessImpact shared insights on their work in leveraging digital solutions for positive social impact.
- Lawrence Kirton discussed the potential of “digital twinning” for infrastructure development and sustainable resource management.
- Gilles Bach highlighted the continued problems of digital divides.
- The online portion of the event included presentations on Biocharro by Kathleen Draper and Philip Owen.
- Wietse, along with Paul Chatterton and other colleagues, convened a session on regenerative, restorative, and redistributive models spanning the African hemisphere.
- Rafal Serafin, with other colleagues, explored local economy solutions in food/sustainable food chains, water/waste, and energy communities.
The Human Factor: Cognition, Conscience, Consequences
The GRFC roundtable underscored the critical role of human behaviour in addressing the ecological crisis.
The roundtable acknowledged the reality of human demands exceeding Earth’s regenerative capacity. Despite decades of warnings, humanity has failed to address ecological overshoot due to a lack of behavioural change. The root cause of ecological overshoot lies in maladaptive human behaviours, driven by factors like excessive consumption, resource acquisition, and the pursuit of wealth and status. Focusing on incremental solutions like renewable energy without addressing the underlying need for growth is a flawed approach.
A radical shift in human behaviour is necessary to avoid ecological collapse. This requires understanding and addressing the behavioural drivers of overshoot. our modern human behaviour is causing us to consume our natural resources at rates faster than they can be replenished, while also creating waste in excess of what the Earth can assimilate. The authors name and frame this existential threat the “Human Behavioural Crisis” and propose that the crisis, which stems from maladaptive human behaviours, be recognised globally as a critical intervention point for tackling ecological overshoot (and its symptoms like climate change).
Collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and the marketing/media industries is crucial to reorient human behaviour towards sustainability.
A Call for Responsible Digitalisation and Behavioural Transformation
The Futures Fair for Business and Finance highlighted the urgent need for a paradigm shift in both technology and human behaviour. Digitalisation, when guided by principles of sustainability and equity, can be a powerful force for positive change. However, addressing the ecological crisis requires a fundamental transformation in human consciousness and consumption patterns. The GRFC’s commitment to fostering dialogue and action on these critical issues remains paramount.