To do this requires finding a way to more fairly share the costs and benefits of technology. This means investing in expanding access to existing technologies that half of the world takes for granted, such as electricity. In this case, prioritising new off-grid connections over upgraded grid capacity for those who already have access.

We also need to accelerate progress in making existing and new technologies environmentally sustainable. This will mean difficult decisions for those countries and people – often in the developed world – that have got used to consuming natural resources at an unsustainable level. This is well demonstrated by the recent controversy surrounding Obama’s Clean Power Plan, launched in August to reduce emissions and fundamentally change how US business and individuals receive and use energy. There will be winners and losers in the short term at least, potential loss of jobs and higher electricity prices in coal-producing states, but in the long-term we will all be winners.

The direction of innovation must also be addressed. Instead of endless upgrades to consumer technologies, we need to prioritise the development of technology that meets environmental needs and the needs of those living in poverty. Diversifying the geography of innovation will be an important way to ensure that technologies better reflect the diversity of users. This needs substantial investment in national and local innovation systems and capacity in developing countries. National governments should take the lead in creating the right environment for this, including encouraging greater international cooperation on research, such as through EU-Africa cooperation.

There is also an important role for organisations like Practical Action, Planet Earth Institute and others in pushing science and technology up the development agenda. There are promising signs of rising innovation levels already, according to WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organisation) Sub-Saharan Africa now has more ‘innovation learner’ economies than any other region.

At the same time, globally we must do a better job at sharing technology and technical knowledge. This means revisiting a patent regime that is not fit for purpose, and is accused of stifling the innovation it is supposed to promote – not least by creating a system of trolls and defensive patent-holders who buy-up patents to prevent others from developing the technology.  As Owen Barder and Charles Kenny put it: reforming the global patent regime would be to every country’s benefit.

At the Addis Ababa conference on financing the SDGs in July, the national governments agreed to establish a technology facilitation mechanism, alongside the proposed UN technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries. Together, and correctly constructed, these two mechanisms will offer a multi-stakeholder platform to institute and progress a long overdue global conversation.

It’s time that we built a global consensus about the type of technologies and innovation that we want and need for our development, for everyone, and for the future of our planet.

Amber Meikle is Senior Policy and Practice Adviser, leading Practical Action’s influencing work on Technology Justice.  She is the author of the recent report ‘Introducing Technology Justice: a new paradigm for the sustainable development goals’

Practical Action and University of Edinburgh will be co-hosting a conference and workshop to explore the challenges of technology justice, in Edinburgh in January. Contact Amber Meikle: @tecjustice amber.meikle@practicalaction.org for more information.