Trends Identified
Conflicts and violence
In the post-World War II period, while the number of external or interstate conflicts (conflicts between two or more states) declined, there has been an upsurge in internal or intrastate conflicts (conflicts between a government and non-state actors within a state) (IEP 2016). In 2015, for instance, there were 280 intrastate conflicts, in contrast to 74 interstate conflicts, with internal conflicts constituting about 80 percent of the global conflict count (HIIK 2015, 2016).
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Disasters
Disasters associated with natural hazards have become more frequent during the past 20 years (Figure 18).38 Between 1996 and 2015, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) estimated a total of 8,104 disasters related to natural hazards across all continents, with 4.1 billion people affected by these events, which is almost twice the level recorded between 1976 and 1995.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Disease outbreaks
Ncidence rates of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) have fallen since 2000 (Figure 19), and the number of deaths due to various types of infectious diseases, including parasitic diseases and respiratory infections, declined globally from 12.1 million in 2000 to 9.5 million in 2012.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Hunger and food insecurity
The global demand for food is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2030 compared with the current needs in order to meet the increasing demand of the world’s growing population (Maggio, Van Criekinge and Malingreau 2015). The growing global population, along with accelerating urbanization and deteriorating natural resources, implies that there are more people to feed with less water, land and rural labour (FAO 2015). Finding a sustainable solution to providing more food to nearly 9 billion people by 2030 without harming the environment thus poses a great challenge for the 2030 Agenda and SDG 2 on ending hunger in particular.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
The Changing Context of Development Cooperation and Financing Sustainable Development
In order to achieve the universal 2030 Agenda, drawing on all sources of finance— public and private, domestic and international—in all countries will be essential. The challenge is to enhance the impact of available resources, while also catalysing additional sources of financing into investments in sustainable development.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Technological Innovations for Sustainable Development
Rapidly developing technologies have reshaped the lives of communities, families and individuals around the world through providing new goods and services, including to “bottom of the pyramid”72 consumers, creating new industries and markets, and changing demand for labour and capital (Ramalingham et al. 2016). New technologies have been recognized by the 2030 Agenda as an important means for implementing the SDGs across economic, social and environmental dimensions, and as a critical instrument to address existing and emerging challenges. However, while technologies can bring many benefits to communities in both developed and developing countries, they can also carry significant risks, as discussed later in this chapter.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Progress in AI has accelerated rapidly since around 2010, driven by the confluence of the growing availability of large data sets from commerce, social media, science and other sources; continued improvements in computational power; and the development of better machine learning algorithms and techniques (such as “deep learning”). Systems are now capable of learning how to accomplish a task without having been provided with explicit steps for doing so. Once designed and deployed, the neural network that underpins modern AI can formulate its own rules for interpreting new data and designing solutions, with minimal— or no— human participation.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations
Renewable energy technologies
Following recent technological breakthroughs, a growing number of current and emerging technologies in the area of renewable energy generation have achieved a sufficient level of technical and economic maturity to render them ready for large-scale deployment.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations
Energy storage technologies
The technology of utility-sized energy storage has been advancing and becoming more economical. The appropriate method of storing energy depends on the resources available to the local power producer. The existing technologies for storing energy include: (a) hydropower and compressed air storage; (b) molten salt thermal storage; (c) the redox flow battery; (4) the conventional rechargeable battery; and (e) thermal storage.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations
Autonomous vehicles and drones
Autonomous vehicles are perhaps the most visible applications of advanced algorithms, sensors and powerful computing power. Five levels of automation exist for vehicles (excluding zero automation), ranging from basic driver assistance (level 1: “hands on”) to full automation (level 5: “steering wheel optional”) (see figure A.1). The most successful automation system currently available, offered by Tesla in its passenger cars, provides level 2 automation (“hands off ”), where the driver can rely on the vehicle to steer and control speed but must be attentive and ready to intervene when required. A significant amount of research is being conducted whose aim is to allow vehicles to operate at level 3 (“eyes off ”) and higher automation levels. While some automakers are announcing plans to market level 3 automation capabilities in the next two years, level 5 automation is, by some estimations, decades away.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations