Striving for sustainable digitalization

Digitalization is a rather nebulous term with many different definitions in various fields. According to researchers writing in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, digitalization might encompass production, distribution, exchange, and consumption in different ways and is gaining importance in industry, transport, agriculture, and e-commerce. The team points out that governments have an important role to play in educational, health care, and social digitalization.

Volodymyr Bilotserkivets and Viktor Tarasevych of the Department of International Economics, Political Economy and Governance at the National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine in Dnipro, Urak Aliyev of the Department of Economics and Innovative Business at the "Turan-Astana" University in Kazakhstan, Waldemar Izdebski of the Faculty of Management at Warsaw University of Technology (Politechnika Warszawska) in Warszawa, Poland, and Petr Lemeshchenko of the Department of International Political Economy at the Belarusian State University in Minsk, Belarus, have looked at the processes of economy digitalization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and what we might optimistically refer to as the post-pandemic era.

The researchers point out that the transition to digitalized activities during periods of lockdown, quarantines, social distancing, and other measures was profound and often driven by government. Their focus being in East Europe and Kazakhstan shows how the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift in the role of governments in economy digitalization. This has happened against a backdrop of climate change, the catastrophic decline of biodiversity, and the continuing deterioration of the human environment.

The team suggests that digitalization could, given the right push, offer a new trajectory for humanity and the planet that sees the cascade of information and communication technologies driving sustainable development. This will need improved digital literacy among the population and improved e-government. State policies need to stimulate such developments.

The research was published in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues.