A wave of currently proven technologies can level up the world today with an investment boom; a second wave of emerging transformative technologies could create a US$750 trillion economy by 2060. The critical question is whether the world can navigate the current hypercrisis to get there.

Today’s metacrisis of turbulence from wars, climate shocks, technological disruption, migration, and social unrest are part of a deeper civilisational shift from the Industrial to the Information Age. Without bold intervention, the world risks systemic instability, stalled human progress, and escalating climate disaster.

Technology has the potential to solve the world’s sustainable development gap, driving the creation of a US$15 trillion global market opportunity in the process and creating a secure and superior future for all. Unlocking this opportunity requires targeted policy reforms and capacity building that turn what are currently development needs into commercial opportunities.

Amid recurring waves of global crises, including conflicts, economic shocks, and environmental degradation, the world’s focus has shifted from long-term goals like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to immediate survival. The path forward requires systemic change, strategic initiatives, and empowering individuals to drive sustainable practices

Technology is the catalyst for a civilizational shift currently underway in the world, with the potential to both level up the world in terms of security and sustainability, and to create a superior long-term future for all. The 2024 Technology as a Force for Good Report highlights ten technology solutions that can make substantial contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The 2023 Capital as a Force for Good report demonstrates, there are proven solutions already being deployed across the public and private sector that have the potential to substantially achieve the 17 goals.

Technology could be the deciding factor in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in delivering human security for all. The ‘Capital as a Force for Good report described the seemingly insurmountable gap of up to US$135 trillion needed to fund the SDGs. Technology can change that equation and today’s technologists are at least as bold, innovative and resourceful as those that took man from agriculture to industrialization.

“The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report paints a sombre picture for the world in terms of its current climate trajectory. In addition to a series of climate models, the report also incorporated a collection of scenarios, named Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), that explored a range of possible climate futures. These SSPs show how the choices being made by governments, corporations, investors and individuals are impacting the world’s climate trajectory and therefore represent essential inputs for future strategic planning.”

The total cost of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has also increased by up to 25% in the last year from US$116-US$142 to US$134-176 trillion. The rise has been driven by historic underfunding, requirements for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions), a shortening window for achieving the goals, and high inflation that has spiked further following Russia’s war in Ukraine. While the finance industry is committing record amounts to funding the SDGs, on the current trajectory they will fail to be met by their 2030 deadlines, by decades in some cases.