Author– Vishal Gupta
As climate disasters intensify and emissions targets drift further out of reach, the world is leaning heavily on technology for salvation. From carbon capture facilities in Iceland to AI-optimized power grids in California, climate tech is being hailed as our silver bullet. But there’s a problem we can’t afford to ignore: most of the planet is watching this revolution from the sidelines.
The Global South, home to over 80 percent of the world’s population and the frontlines of climate impacts, is too often left out of the conversation. Not for lack of ideas or urgency, but because the global climate innovation machine is structured to favor the rich, the connected, and the familiar. While investment capital, patents, and policy frameworks flow mostly within high income countries, communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific remain underrepresented and underfunded. They are seen as recipients, not co creators. The Global South is portrayed as a site for deployment, not design.
This is not just an oversight; it’s a strategic failure.
If you want to see real climate innovation, look where the pressure to adapt is greatest. In Bangladesh, floating schools and solar powered boats keep kids learning and commerce moving through seasonal floods. In Kenya, mobile money platforms and pay as you go solar systems have revolutionized rural electrification. Across the Caribbean and Pacific Islands, communities are developing drought resistant crops, localized microgrids, and community based early warning systems.
These are not tales of survival. They are blueprints for the future, born from necessity, grounded in reality, and often far more practical than their glossier Northern counterparts. But despite this, less than 10 percent of global climate finance reaches adaptation projects in developing countries. Even when high tech solutions are exported to the Global South, they often arrive as finished products with little room for local adaptation or ownership.
This model innovation in the North, application in the South isn’t just outdated; it’s ineffective. The climate crisis demands solutions that work in real world conditions, not just in labs. A smart irrigation system designed for California’s Central Valley may fail miserably in rural Rajasthan if it can’t handle unreliable electricity or local water dynamics. A weather forecasting AI is meaningless to a farmer in Uganda if it doesn’t operate in local languages or without constant internet access.
To close this gap, the global climate tech community must shift from a top down export model to a collaborative, decentralized approach. That means investing not only in infrastructure but also in people in entrepreneurs, engineers, researchers, and grassroots leaders from the Global South who understand their own contexts better than any external consultant ever could.
There are promising signs. The African Union is pushing for a pan African green tech market. India is positioning itself as a hub for affordable solar manufacturing tailored to the needs of developing economies. Some multilateral banks and philanthropic initiatives are beginning to prioritize open source innovation, regional research hubs, and technology transfer. But these are still exceptions, not the norm.
The truth is, developed countries and their institutions still hold most of the cards: capital, influence, intellectual property. If they are serious about climate justice, they must be willing to share more than money. They must share control. That starts with reforming how climate finance is distributed, ensuring more funding reaches community based and locally led projects. It means including Southern voices in standard setting bodies and international climate negotiations not as symbolic gestures, but as decision makers. And it means recognizing that innovation isn’t a North to South pipeline. It’s a global network of ideas, insights, and solutions that must flow in all directions.
This is not charity; it’s common sense. The Global South is where the climate crisis hits hardest and where some of the most agile, adaptive thinking is already happening. Failing to leverage this is not only unjust; it’s self defeating. No country, no matter how advanced, can tech its way out of the climate crisis alone. We’re running out of time. Climate technology has enormous potential but only if it reflects the diversity of the planet it’s meant to protect. That starts by listening to the people who know their land, their risks, and their needs best. The future of climate innovation isn’t just in Palo Alto or Berlin. It’s also in Nairobi, Dhaka, Bogotá, and Suva.
If we want a climate tech revolution that works for everyone, we need to stop talking about inclusion and start practicing it. The Global South isn’t waiting for a handout. It’s ready to lead. The world just needs to stop looking past it.
