Industrialisation has created a global connection & a technological culture which now underpins society & entire communities.
Human evolution is now being moulded by the industrialised age which our ancestors & forefathers forged from the very Earth we are now trying to save.
It is no surprise when we look back in history, that our greatest innovations stem from the Industrial Revolution & industrialisation. If it were not for the pioneers of yesteryear, we simply would not have the technologies we have today & our business infrastructures would be a far cry from what they are now.
Our industrial forefathers & pioneers have not only enabled us to be automated, to fly, to create machines which benefit & assist an ever growing & diverse global population; but sadly they have also created a legacy of climate disasters which our modern Earth is now seeing the repercussions of.
In 2019 we have seen activists take to our streets demanding action on advancing climate change, our children, spurned on by Greta Thunberg have been demanding that their futures are protected & day after day our media streams are filled with flooding, sea levels rising, ice caps melting & deforestation on a vast scale.
Therefore, if we know that humans are the root cause of the dramatic changes we are seeing in our climate & biodiversity, then what is actively being done to change this, to reverse the damage humans have caused to our eco-system & our climate?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an active collection of goals set by the United Nations to create a collaboration focus for human being’s future on planet Earth. SDG9 focuses on the very aspect of human existence which now threatens our future, our ability to strike a balance & build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive & sustainable industrialization and foster innovation (1)
Despite the fact that industrialisation has caused damage to the Earths climate & eco-system, the needs of an ever-growing human race are still needed to be considered, whilst also keeping sustainability at the core of everything we do.
The progress of SDG9 having been reviewed at the high-level political forum in 2017, had the following outcomes:
- The global share of manufacturing value added in GDP increased from 15.2 per cent in 2005 to 16.3 per cent in 2017, driven by the fast growth of manufacturing in Asia.
- Globally, the carbon intensity decreased by 19 per cent from 2000 to 2015— from 0.38 to 0.31 kilograms of carbon dioxide per dollar of value added.
- In 2015, medium-high- and high-technology sectors accounted for 44.7 per cent of total manufacturing value added globally. The value added reached 34.6 per cent in developing economies, up from 21.5 per cent in 2005.
- By 2016, the proportion of the population covered by a third generation (3G) mobile broadband network stood at 61 per cent in the LDCs and 84 per cent globally. (1)
However, despite the statistics, the facts & the figures; what is actively being done, physically, tangibly being done to ensure the needs of humans are balanced against the needs of planet Earth & it’s eco-system, biodiversity & climate?
At last year’s UK Clean Growth Innovation Summit titled ‘Technologies of the Future’ some of the key questions posed were: How can we develop UK industries that are fit for the future? Where should we drive progress in technologies where the UK can become a world-leader in their research and commercialisation?
The understanding of how we utilise & embrace a ‘fit for the future’ technological lead in our industrial development, is imperative for the way humans can look forward.
Paragraph 2 of the Lima Declaration from UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) states:
Lima Declaration: Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, adopted in December 2013 “As industry develops, it drives an increase of value addition and enhances the application of science, technology and innovation, therefore encouraging greater investment in skills and education, and thus providing the resources to meet broader, inclusive and sustainable development objectives.” (3)
One such example of where innovation & industry is striving for the betterment of human need, Earth’s climate & our biodiversity, is the Dolphin N2 CryoPower split cycle diesel engine. With sustainability at the forefront of global industry innovations, we ask the question of Dolphin N2: Is the CryoPower split cycle diesel engine futureproof?
‘It is tempting to see any ICE as a “transition technology”. However, combustible fuels remain by far the most energy-dense in comparison to batteries or fuel cells / hydrogen; they can be manufactured sustainably from bio-mass or synthesised. The CryoPower combustion system has been demonstrated on Diesel and Natural Gas, and it is potentially compatible with napthas, ethanol, hythane and hydrogen. The Liquid Nitrogen is already sustainable, as air-separation is a major player in electricity “demand-side management”; as use of renewables rise, it has been shown to be an attractive way of balancing the grid.’ (2)
With the circular economic possibilities of the Dolphin N2 CryoPower split cycle diesel engine, the use of Liquid Nitrogen as a by-product of industry & the global haulage, marine & transport possibilities of the Dolphin N2 technologies; this is a company which sits at the very heart of SDG9. Dolphin N2 by default are fostering innovation & actively promoting a sustainable industrialised environmentally protective solution to global haulage needs & the human need for transportation; SDG9 in action.
Written by Katy-Jane Mason on behalf of Dolphin N2
