Enhancing Cybersecurity in Climate Technology Transfer: The Interaction of Environmental Law with Digital Security

1 Introduction

The global climate crisis challenges countries and international organizations all around the world to take actions and measures to facilitate dynamic climate change transfer to reach its aims and goals to minimize greenhouse gas emissions while preparing for the negative effects of climate change (Gorka 2021). Rapid digitalization of environments and critical infrastructure is taking place and could assist in reaching objective goals on time or maybe even sooner (Kingsbury 2019). To enhance transformational impact, the Technology Mechanism, with two complementary bodies that work together, has launched several initiatives and programs to use new technologies and innovations and to digitalize (Lowan-Trudeau 2023) across two technologies, enablers, and five system transformations. The mechanism also serves the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Technology Mechanism has also established a work plan, which is called the Joint Work Programme of the Technology Mechanism (2023–2027). For the first time, the Joint Work Programme brings two bodies together to develop long-term strategies to elevate its performance and increase its impact.

The Technology Executive Committee (TEC) is one of the organizations of the Technology Mechanism, a total of two organizations, and the second one is the Climate Technology Center and Network (Majekolagbe 2020). The Technology Execute Committee (TEC) consists of multiple experts from developing and developed countries to provide recommendations and guidance on innovations and transmission of invention policies. The Technology Executive Committee work plans for 2023–2027 have been structured around four work streams, and together with the Climate Technology Center and Network, they have one activity called TEC – CTCN Joint Activities. As mentioned above, innovation is also taking place in combating climate change, and technology mechanisms have taken action and, in 2023, launched their initiatives on artificial intelligence (AI) for climate action (Correa 2013). Artificial intelligence as a tool for developing and implementing revolutionary climate solutions for developing nations in mitigation and adaptation efforts. The Technology Mechanism arms for policy and implementation are working more closely than ever on this initiative to provide a place for policy discussions, awareness-raising, and the exchange of stakeholder knowledge and experience in developing and deploying AI-enabled climate solutions. With the use of artificial intelligence (AI), efforts will have to be made to develop the use of new digital technologies to solve not only local but also global climate solutions (Stein 2020).

To support the implementation of the TEC rolling work plan (2023–2027), the CTCN Program of Work (2023–2027) activities under the initiative have to be developed. The TECs and CTNCs will work on common infrastructures like national systems of innovation, water, energy, and food systems, energy systems, buildings, and resilient infrastructure, business, and industry. At the same time, TEC, collaborating with Neurosystem, has launched the AI Innovation Grand Challenge to drive AI applications for climate mitigation and adaptation actions in developing countries. The Technology Framework was established according to, paragraph 4 of Article 10 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. To implement the Agreement in pursuing technology development and transfer, referred to in Article 10, paragraph 1, of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the framework provides a long-term objective for the Technology Mechanism’s efforts to promote better engagement on development and transfer of technology (Patel 2014).

As argued in Stein (2020), AI as a tool could easily be encountered with challenges related to greenhouse gas release, while there exist conditions of usage of AI to deal with climate change issues. Similarly, Lyster, Farber, and McFadden (2022) mentions about electrical infra-structural development in the process of climate change and existence of innovational technological solutions. Shackelford, Fort, and Charoen (2016) argue about issues which are related to climate change and cyber-attacks and its impact on the environment and the international institutions. One message is clear that the mentioned scholars would like to see digitalization in climate change solutions and about its positive and negative consequences. In this regard, as we understand, in the literature, there is clearly no information about the specific difficulties and decisions related to the preservation of customs and knowledge of the indigenous peoples in the context of digital security, despite the growing significance of the legal framework and cybersecurity when transmitting climatic technologies. The communities of indigenous peoples process a huge amount of important information about adaptation to the environment and stable practices. An insufficiently studied field of research is how to preserve and implement this knowledge in the era of transmission of climatic technologies, taking into account the issues of cybersecurity. There is a shortage of research on specific issues related to the preservation of knowledge of the indigenous peoples during the transfer of climatic technologies, despite the fact that current studies are focused on legal matters, difficulties in cybersecurity and political recommendations. This is due to the most crucial role that indigenous peoples take in protecting the environment and the prospective contributions of their unparalleled expertise in this field as well as the establishment and creation of climate-resilient technologies.

Through the upcoming research and observation of the most suitable manner to mix the dissemination of this knowledge with the necessities for cybersecurity in digitalization we can see how to devise the more ethical and inclusive practices for the spreading of the new climatic technologies. This could be done in an environmental context, through which the benefits and harms of implementation and traditional approaches would be explained on digital media. It is therefore necessary to systematically analyze and appraise cyber-security and legal framework and its effectiveness in terms of transfer of new ecological technologies in order to uncover any shortfalls, develop creative options and help in policy making that will contribute to international cooperation while ensuring data confidentiality and transmitting stable climate technology innovatively, ethically and inclusively, proposing solutions to the identified problem areas and challenges in the course of the project. In this case, new legal framework, cybersecurity methods, and cooperation models will be proposed to ensure effective and safe delivery of the new climatic technologies and digitalization as well. The significance is also underlined in terms of protecting the transfer of new innovative technologies related to climate change, facilitating international cooperation, the analysis of presently used and new techniques that help us to scale the implementation of the stable method that does not contradict the balance of transparency and anonymity.

2 Materials and Methods

This research will focus on the pinpointing the specific cybersecurity hazards and difficulties that are inherent in the introduction of emerging technologies and the holistic transition to digitalization incorporating climate technology transfer. These risks and challenges that face societies include the alarming cyber threat, digital infrastructures’ vulnerabilities, and the negative effects of inappropriate cybersecurity measures on the already ongoing and future climate operations.

The empirically centered comparative analysis drills into the legislative frameworks and preventative strategies. Related international legal sources, in the context of environmentalism, such as conventions such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 1992, the Paris Agreement for Climate Change from 2015, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from 1988, were reviewed. These sources were selected based on their relevance, publication, and quality of coverage of the climate crisis. Furthermore, suggestions for improving the current regulatory frameworks, both domestic and international, to combat climate change are one of the main global issues.

3 The Climate Technology Landscape: From Policy Frameworks to Implementation Challenges

The driver and one of the main legal frameworks for climate change technology is the Paris Agreement on Climate Change under the UNFCCC. There is countless evidence of the importance and urgency of the need for legal frameworks in climate technology transfer that will help developed and developing countries, including LDs and SIDS, reduce GHGs, including renewable energies such as wind energy, solar power, and hydropower (Carayannis, Draper, and Crumpton 2021). The objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was adopted in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, are to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations at a level in the atmosphere that will stop harmful human influence in the climate system. The objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change mention that they should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change. The question might appear at this moment: how can we effectively address these objectives to the organizations and countries that are a part of these conventions and organizations to proceed with sustainable economic development? Generally speaking, UNFCCC has gone through several stages of development, starting with technology and the convention, until the technology framework. Every mechanism plays an important role in climate change technology. In 2015, a big new chapter arrived in global action on climate change; that year, the Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted. The objective of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is mentioned in Article 2 of the agreement, and its goals to strengthen the international (Zhang et al. 2014) response related to the climatic threat, emanating from climate change and its consequences, with standing an increase in the average global temperature significantly lower than 2° compared to the pre-industrial level and continuing to maintain an increase of 1.5° compared to pre-industrial level.

It is very critical for all countries (Doelle and Chircop 2019) to build up the capacity to comprehend the program in the area of sustainable development for the time up to 2030 to secure the environmentally feasible development with a low level of gas emission and resistance to climate challenge. The severe impact of climate change will face developing countries due to the lack of the largest adaptation deficit (Zhou 2019). Technological innovations are therefore playing a role as one of the keys to reaching climate objectives (Lyster, Farber, and McFadden 2022). One has to understand and acknowledge the fact that industries nowadays have a variety of options and tools that they never had before to cut down on their emissions and instead of adapting to climate change. However, having many options does not mean or guarantee that the countries can or could adapt to climate technologies due to the process of climate technology being more concentrated in developed countries, where some developed and developing countries are responsible for climate technology innovations.

The climate technology transfer is connected to economic growth (Dash and Mahapatra 2021). The living standards are rising, and the development of the economy depends on how fast countries can adapt to climate technology. In order to boost the performance and comprehension of their needs in the sphere of development, the developing countries need the technology that the developed countries have. Hence, technology progress becomes as a result of transmission of information, innovations, and technologies from one country to another (Piana 2022). It really shows there is significant influence on technological advancement, with the capability of getting access to and sharing knowledge of technologies with others abroad. This makes international technology transfer of critical importance in reducing capacity gaps in technological knowledge as well as differences in wealth and income between industrialized and developing nations. In order to boost the performance and comprehension of their needs in the sphere of developed countries have. Hence, technology progress becomes as a result of transmission of information, innovations, and technologies from one country to another warming, environmentally friendly equipment is still inaccessible to a wide range of consumers (Mboya 2018). The innovations that help achieve mitigation are known as environmental solutions and adaptation objectives of the Conventions on Climate Change.

The patented technologies (Zhou 2019) are concentrated in the short-listed countries, which have higher incomes compared to other countries (Uddin and Huq 2020). The actual situation is that the countries having economic issue sometimes do not introduce environmentally friendly innovations adequately regardless of the worldwide concern for the environment. Furthermore, environmentally friendly machines are still not widely available to majority of the consumers (Renaud et al. 2020). In a broader sense, this prevents the promotion and development in a wider context of progress; however, in the context of the friendly environmental technologies, obstacles in the transfer of technology risk worsening climate change and its impact (Ryngaert 2017). Countries all around the world face the consequences of climate change because of the delay in adaptation and mitigation technologies (Banthia 2019). The expansion of the adoption of climate technology is essential to the achievement of global climate goals. In order to achieve the main goal and to carry out a zero transition by 2050, it is necessary to eliminate a significant break. In the current technological development and requirements to solve whole range of problems associated with climate change for the benefit of all society and peoples (Lawrence and Wong 2017). Climate technology offers (Yazykova and Bruch 2018) different ways to solve the climate issue through adaptability and reduction. The advantages are not restricted to goals of the climate convention. They represent new or differing approaches so solve the problem associated with climate change by adaptation and mitigation. The consequences (Yamamoto 2020) in a number of regions that are crucial for the economic development and prosperity (Giampetro-Meyer 2019).

The countries and regions are improving their decision-making processes in important sectors, like in increasing agriculture productivity and access to energy (Sandoval 2018). According to some scientists, the term technology transfer may easily make reference to several various techniques. The processes through which ideas and knowledge are moved across the research center toward the market, from developed to lesser technologically advanced nations, and from one country to another are the three most widely recognized interpretations of technology transfer (Suciu and Cirjan 2022). Transferring inventive activities to secondary (Bach 2016) users. In the context of IPCC (Benjamin and Thomas 2023), the understanding and terminology of technology transfer have a much broader definition. A scientific part of IPCC special report on the problems of legal and scientific aspects of technology transfer uncovers that the term “technology transfer” means a far wider range of the issues, which starts with the transfer of knowledge and skills and ends with the technologies used for adaptation and mitigation of the climate change impact and in the meantime the “transmission” can be defined as “the process of transmitting” knowledge for understanding the use and reproduction of technology, including the ability to choose and adapt to local conditions and integrate them using radical technologies” having not critical consequences.

Therefore, magnification of term and content in the definition has been occurred as well as intensification of technology and technological collaboration on the national and international levels, which is of great help to fulfill targets too. Now it is on the top of the list as an analytical point. However, the processes which technology transfer is realized in some distinct aspects. It could, for instance, be an individual or a company that seeks to have the information at their disposal thus using it. Another process that could be done so either on the private and public sectors. A cross border transmission of technologies often occurs under the influence of market and private companies, there are three main channels of technology transmission that significantly changes the whole game in development and these are: direct foreign investment, international trade and licensing.

The technology transfer process in developing countries usually faces constraints. Successful and smooth technology transfer more relies on enabling (Sun 2020) environments in the hosting country. Fundamental and structural (Maljean-Dubois 2016) constraints bring a high risk of lack of implementation with the help of all kinds of ways to contribute to the spread of environmental innovations and their deployments. To avoid the lack of implementation of climate technology transfer, countries need to have a good source (Franklin et al. 2019) of knowledge and skills of technology to adapt and mitigate transfer technology and have a correct ideology of the country, correct governance, regulatory authorities, and also such as corporate and public frameworks, including the roles of technology-related institutions as well as connections (Iliopoulos, Fermeglia, and Vanheusden 2020). One of the factors in the context of the introduction of environmental innovations is naturally directly related to the transfer of climate technologies (Shan 2018). This is due to the implementation and haste, given the extreme importance for solving environmental problems (Carlarne and Hirokawa 2022). One of the reasons is that many innovational technologies are relatively new, just being produced, or in the middle of their development or pioneering, and are being implemented by introducing so-called new technologies by the private (Vandenbergh et al. 2020) sector and their transfer to developing countries. It is also very important to mention (Shen 2014) that these restrictions are associated both with disabilities and capabilities, and are the introduction of new and modern technologies (Jean-Baptiste et al. 2017) structuring, which can also differ from the funding. At the same time, countries should not pay more attention to that and should do their best to put their effort into being part of this global (Phillips et al. 2018) project. One of the investments of the countries to reduce costs is to fulfill preconditions, the adoption of climate technology, and therefore, to be more viable and competitive, investment in mitigation technologies in particular, whenever there is a strong and relevant regulatory framework not related to political or other personal infrastructure for understanding from the nation of the whole world of the benefit of the whole society of our planet.

4 Enhancing Cybersecurity in Climate Technology: A Strategic Approach

The rolling work plan of the Technology Executive Committee consists of guiding principles and the structure of the work plan. The new work plan has been established with consideration and principles. They are all touching key questions, but at the same time, they are not well explored and are still missing many important moments that can have consequences. One of the principles of the working plan is to be informed by science and be transformative. The Technology Executive Committee has to conduct a complex risk assessment of cybersecurity (Shields 2017) that is related to the development, deployment, and operations of climate change technologies. This assessment should cover potential vulnerabilities, threats, and impacts on the reliability and safety of these technologies (Ehrman 2022). Risk assessment associated with cybersecurity should be completed inclusively, and TEC should include the necessary cybersecurity measures in careful planning and the implementation of the necessary new environmental technologies. This may include such as protocols of secure communication to protect against cyberrics of technologies that will be used in solving climatic issues, access control, invasion detection systems and encryption methods. The TEC should understand the particular importance of awareness of cybersecurity and develop potential initiatives of disseminate the necessary knowledge and experience of intriguing countries participating in the creation and application of new climatic technologies. Different thematic programs, seminars and platforms for exchange of information aimed at improving the practices and principles of cybersecurity (Reed 2019) can easily be included here.

Wide cooperation with professionals in the field of cybersecurity (Wunderlich 2020) and institutions or organizations that are involved in solving issues of the tasks posed for the exchange and application of their knowledge about the detection and reduction of threats of cybersecurity related to climatic technologies that will be or plan to digitalize (Dynkin and Dynkin 2017). This kind of partnership may include joint research initiatives, the exchange of information and experience as well as the possible expansion of initiatives to the mapping level aimed at strengthening the stability of cybersecurity in all areas in the climatic technological sector (Shackeelford et al. 2016). Cybersecurity factors will also have to be taken into account as important criteria in the technological assessment of TEC. This can firmly guarantee that before the widespread use of climatic technologies, subject to extensive and comprehensive research to assess their stability and protection from cyber-attacks and their consequences.

In the field of new climatic technologies and its digitalization, TEC should develop political recommendations and instructions aimed at including cybersecurity issues in the national and international policy and regulatory acts based on awareness of cybersecurity assessments and the importance of cooperation in this direction (Shackelford 2017), which emphasizes how important cybersecurity is for maintaining stability in the world and climate in a sustainable way. Having included these actions in the work plan and creating a more detailed plan for integrating digitalization, TEC could successfully solve the existing acute problems of cybersecurity and increase stability in critical objects and the safety of climatic technologies, maintaining the goals of the Parisian agreement and contributing to the advance of sustainable development. In accordance with the Terms Management Rule, such investigation evaluates acute potential risks associated with cybersecurity related to the introduction and use of climatic technologies and its digitalization. It is also important to note that in order to successfully perform tasks, it is necessary to study the tactics of reducing risks and ensure the safety and integrity of the process of introducing climatic technologies and its digitalization. Joint actions between civil societies, between states, including international organizations that directly work in this direction and the introduction of cybersecurity at each stage should be paid more attention. This involves determining the requirements for cybersecurity, the inclusion of cybersecurity measures in the criteria for selecting climatic technologies in the process of its digitalization and the development of leading principles and methodological, guaranteeing the introduction of climatic digital technologies. The goal of Terms Management Rule is to ensure priority accounting of various types of risks and vulnerabilities in the field of cybersecurity as well as its consequences.

5 Conclusions

The initiative AI4ClimateAction is a key convergence of technological innovations and climatic actions organized by the collective efforts of the Executive Committee for Technologies (TEC), the Center for Climate Technology, and the Network (CTCN). This initiative serves as a beacon of hope in the face of climate change, offering the path to using the transforming potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to catalyze significant progress both in mitigation efforts and in the efforts of adaptation, especially in the context of developing countries, with the target emphasis on the least developed countries and small island developing states. At its core, this initiative was deeply rooted in the leading principles and mandates set forth as part of the joint work program for the technological mechanism, which reflects the general foci for TEC and CTCN, starting from strengthening national innovative ecosystems to strengthening the critical stability of the infrastructure. Having agreed to efforts using the Tech Working Plan 2023–2027 and the CTCN work program 2023–2027, this initiative provides strategic coherence and maximizes the impact on various thematic domains. The basis laid down during regional consultations held in the regional weeks of the ESFOR Climate in 2023 emphasizes the commitment to inclusion and participation, contributing to the dialogue between various interested parties and strengthening the voice of the mass kingdom.

Looking into the future, the initiative is ready to begin the trajectory of sustainable growth and evolution. The upcoming formulation of the comprehensive labor plan for 2024–2027 should outline a strategic road map for future efforts, guided by the understanding received in regional consultation and informed by the advent of trends and priorities. At the same time, efforts to create an advisory group on AI should provide reliable management and ethical consideration in the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies for climate action, while the publication of technical articles sheds light on potential risks and problems, contributing to the climate resolution of the approach to the integration of AI. The initiative AI4ClimateAction is evidence of the transforming power of technology in catalyzing the stability of climate and sustainable development. With innovative decisions and persistence of inclusiveness and justice, this initiative gives the promise to discover a new era of climate innovations, where the convergence of AI and climatic actions paves the way to a more stable, equal future for everyone.