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UNGA79 Side-Event: Global Digital Compact - Seizing the opportunities for building inclusive digital economies

Statement by Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

UNGA79 Side-Event: Global Digital Compact - Seizing the opportunities for building inclusive digital economies

New York
24 September 2024

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this joint event hosted by UN Trade and Development and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology.

We are meeting today, two days after the adoption of the Pact of the Future and its Global Digital Compact, and it is already urgent that we move forward with its implementation.

But we do need to take a moment to recognize and celebrate this achievement that would not have been possible without the effort and dedication of all stakeholders involved in this process. We do have to give a special recognition to Ambassador Milambo and Ambassador Enestrom for their leadership.

We at UN Trade and Development are honored to have supported this process alongside the Office of the Special Envoy on Technology and other partner agencies.

As we move forward from negotiations to action, we must work together and prioritize the role of digital technologies in driving structural economic change, fostering social equity, and empowering individuals to thrive and achieve their full potential.

Harnessing digitalization for development is no easy task. But with today’s session, we want to contribute to this important mission.

And as we do that, we must reverse current trends which point to widening digital and data divides. Over the past decade, instead of moving towards more inclusive outcomes from digitalization, we have seen widening divides. Although more people now have access to the Internet and mobile broadband, this is not sufficient to ensure true inclusivity.

Developing countries must be empowered to have voice and agency in the digital economy, especially in data.

To empower countries, we need rules of engagement. This is why GDC’s 13 principles are so important.

For digitalization to work for development we need regulation. But we also need to balance regulation with innovation. The GDC has achieved that balance.

Additionally, sharing tech means sharing technical skills. The digital divide is a divide of access and a divide of understanding.

 

Many developing countries remain consumers of digital services and importers of ICT goods, lacking the capabilities and opportunities to innovate, produce, add value and export within the digital economy.

The digital economy is also marked by high levels of market concentration and unequal distribution of the benefits of digitalization.

Large digital companies dominate the global data value chain—from data collection, transmission, and storage, to analysis powered by artificial intelligence.

While their actions have implications worldwide, most countries have limited ability to shape these outcomes.

Ladies and gentlemen,

To achieve more inclusive outcomes, we must create a level playing field for all companies to compete in the digital economy. This requires appropriate regulation in several key areas, alongside coordinated efforts on competition, taxation and data policies.

Global data governance is key to ensuring that data works for people and the planet. This means avoiding further fragmentation of the digital space, enabling global data sharing based on trust, reducing inequalities, and addressing the dominant role of major digital platforms.

The importance of data governance is recognized in the GDC.

UNCTAD is committed to playing its part. As Secretariat to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, we are humbled by the new mandate that we receive from the GDC, in terms of establishing a multi-stakeholder working group on data governance at all levels as relevant for development. But our contribution will go much further than that. We will assist in the development and implementation of national digital strategies that align with the GDC principles. We will provide technical assistance in areas such as e-commerce, digital entrepreneurship, and fair competition. We will foster South-South and triangular cooperation to share best practices.

Before closing, I must emphasize that our pursuit of inclusivity must go hand in hand with our efforts to enhance sustainability of digitalization. Our recent Digital Economy Report shows that the ICT sector is increasingly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, consuming more water, and generating more waste.

For example, in 2022, data centers consumed 460 terawatt-hours of electricity – a number expected to more than double by 2026. The rise of energy-intensive technologies like artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining will further drive-up consumption.

To address the environmental footprint of the digital economy, international cooperation is essential. Countries must collaborate to ensure that future digital growth is more energy-efficient and sustainable.

Furthermore, we must address the issue of “unequal ecological exchange” where many developing countries bear greater environmental burdens but enjoy fewer benefits from digitalization compared to more digitally advanced economies. This is an important aspect of our inclusivity efforts.

With this, I look forward to today’s discussion on how we can seize opportunities of digital technologies while managing the associated risks and challenges.

Thank you.