Title: From Tech-First to Climate-First: Why We Must Redefine How Innovation Is Measured
Resource URL: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/06/climate-tech-innovation-progress-measurement/
Publication Date: 2025-06-20
Format Type: Article
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Contributors: Sandeep Chandna;
Source: World Economic Forum
Keywords: [Climate-First Innovation, Sustainable Technology, Carbon Emissions, Green Finance, Climate Policy]
Job Profiles: Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO);ESG Analyst;Renewable Energy Manager;Sustainability Manager;Chief Financial Officer (CFO);
Synopsis: In this WEF article, Sandeep Chandna, Chief Sustainability Officer at Tech Mahindra, explains why innovation must shift from being tech-driven to climate-first, calling for coordinated action across policy, finance, and culture to ensure that technology supports environmental sustainability.
Takeaways: [Despite vigorous growth in robotics, fifth-generation telecommunications, and electric vehicles, green innovation is lagging, resulting in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions of 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023., The European Green Deal’s goal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 illustrates how policy can steer sustainable technological advancements., Redirecting the global $7 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies toward clean energy and nature-based solutions could unlock breakthroughs in climate-first technology., Cultural integration—through engagement with indigenous knowledge and climate literacy in education—multiplies the impact of sustainable technologies., The author’s firm deployed an AI-powered code optimization tool, which improved its green impact score by 20-40%, demonstrating how corporate action can accelerate net-zero goals.]
Summary: Technological progress has unlocked breakthroughs in robotics, fifth-generation telecommunications, and electric vehicles, yet green innovation remains in arrears even as carbon emissions and global temperatures surge. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions reached 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023, marking a 1.1 percent rise, and the consumer electronics sector’s fast upgrade cycles have exacerbated e-waste, despite the recoverable value of millions of discarded smartphones.

To reverse this trend, the author argues that three forces—policy, capital, and culture—must align. Policies such as the European Green Deal have set ambitious emission targets, and frameworks like the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures have raised corporate accountability, but gaps persist, especially around emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Capital redirection is equally critical: global fossil fuel subsidies of seven trillion dollars in 2022 stand in stark contrast to the ambition at the Twenty-ninth Conference of the Parties to triple climate finance by 2035. Embedding environmental, social, and governance criteria into investment strategies can catalyze the scaling of climate-first solutions.

Cultural acceptance acts as a multiplier, requiring the integration of indigenous knowledge and climate literacy into education and community engagement to foster lasting change. Companies translate these frameworks into action: a consumer goods manufacturer has committed to fully recyclable packaging by 2030, a major software firm has deployed a climate innovation fund, and the author’s organization has introduced an AI-powered code optimization tool that improved its green impact score by up to 40 percent. Startups in urban agriculture and robotics further demonstrate that sustainability-driven innovation is feasible at every scale.

Ultimately, the article contends that innovation must evolve from disruptive, emissions-blind breakthroughs toward regenerative, systems-level solutions that serve both people and the planet, setting the benchmark for a net-zero future.
Content: ## Introduction

Technological progress has generated unprecedented capabilities, yet it has coincided with a troubling surge in carbon emissions and global temperatures. Although robotics, fifth-generation telecommunications, and electric vehicles have advanced markedly, innovation in environmentally sustainable solutions remains insufficient to address accelerating climate pressures.

## The State of Innovation and Its Environmental Cost

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index 2024, sectors such as robotics, fifth-generation telecommunications, and electric vehicles are experiencing robust growth. However, the apparent neglect of green innovation has contributed to rising environmental indicators. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions reached 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023, a 1.1 percent increase over the previous year, as reported by the International Energy Agency.

Rapid product turnover in the consumer electronics industry exacerbates e-waste challenges. Although recycling one million smartphones could recover over 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, and 75 pounds of gold, most devices are discarded in landfills, contaminating ecosystems and depleting recoverable materials. Similarly, the expansion of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing is raising the digital carbon footprint: data centers consume 1 to 1.5 percent of global electricity, and training a single large language model can emit as much carbon dioxide as five conventional automobiles over their lifetimes.

## Policy as a Strategic Driver

Governments can align technological advancement with planetary wellbeing through regulation, fiscal incentives, and targeted funding. The European Green Deal, for example, aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 across climate, energy, transport, and taxation sectors. Environmental, social, and governance standards, such as the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, have enhanced corporate accountability, yet significant policy gaps persist around emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. While the European Union's AI Act provides an ethical framework for intelligent systems and the IndiaAI Mission promotes inclusive practices, a unified, climate-centred global governance model has yet to emerge.

## Mobilizing Capital for Climate-First Innovation

Redirecting capital flows is essential to scaling sustainable technologies. Although global fossil fuel subsidies totalled 7 trillion US dollars in 2022, a coordinated effort at the Twenty-ninth Conference of the Parties sought to triple annual climate finance from 100 billion to 300 billion dollars by 2035 and to raise financing for developing countries to 1.3 trillion dollars per year. Embedding environmental, social, and governance criteria into investment mandates and directing subsidies toward decarbonization and nature-based solutions can unlock transformative potential.

## Cultivating Cultural Acceptance

Social trust and cultural legitimacy are catalysts for systemic change. Technology innovators must engage local communities, respect indigenous knowledge, and integrate traditional practices into modern frameworks. Embedding climate literacy in educational curricula and workplace training reframes environmental stewardship as an opportunity rather than an obligation, fostering irreversible progress.

## Corporate Leadership in Practice

Companies translate policy and finance into tangible outcomes. A consumer goods manufacturer has committed to fully reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by set deadlines, while a major software firm's dedicated climate fund has allocated substantial capital to sustainable technology ventures and clean electricity projects. The author's firm has deployed an AI-powered code optimization tool that has improved its green impact score by 20 to 40 percent and reduced indirect emissions. Several startups, ranging from urban agriculture enterprises to robotic systems developers, demonstrate that climate-first innovation is attainable across organizational scales.

## Conclusion

The imperative for eco-centric, systems-level innovation has never been clearer. By integrating governance, finance, and culture, stakeholders can pivot from isolated breakthroughs to regenerative solutions that serve both people and the planet, ensuring that future technological advancement uplifts more lives than it excludes and heals more harm than it causes.