Sustainable development Archives | Digital Watch Observatory

EU Global Green Bond Initiative Fund unlocks €20 billion for sustainable infrastructure

The European Union and its financial partners have launched the Global Green Bond Initiative Fund to mobilise up to €20 billion for sustainable infrastructure in developing economies.

The initiative reflects a broader shift towards using private capital alongside public investment to accelerate climate and environmental goals.

Moreover, the fund will prioritise green bonds issued by governments, local authorities, and businesses, with a focus on first-time issuers and least developed countries. By supporting both euro and local-currency bonds, the initiative also aims to strengthen domestic capital markets while expanding the international role of the euro.

Backed by major European financial institutions and supported through the EU guarantees, the GGBI Fund is designed to reduce investment risk and attract private investors at scale.

Alongside financing, the initiative includes technical assistance and subsidy mechanisms intended to improve access to green finance and lower borrowing costs.

The programme forms part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, linking economic development with sustainability goals while promoting high environmental standards and long-term resilience across partner regions.

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Austria hosts the first Google data centre in the Alpine region

Google has announced its first data centre investment in Austria, marking an expansion of digital infrastructure in the Alpine region.

The facility, to be built in Kronstorf, is expected to create around 100 direct jobs while supporting growing demand for cloud services and AI capabilities across Europe.

The investment reflects a broader push to strengthen Europe’s digital competitiveness through infrastructure linked to AI-driven growth. By expanding its network capacity, Google says it aims to enhance the performance, reliability, and scalability of its services, helping regional economies remain connected to global digital ecosystems.

Sustainability is a central part of the project. The data centre will incorporate measures such as renewable energy integration, heat recovery systems, and water quality initiatives linked to the nearby Enns River.

These efforts align with wider industry trends towards greener data infrastructure and lower environmental impact.

Alongside infrastructure development, Google is also investing in workforce skills through partnerships with local institutions, including the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria.

Building on previous training initiatives that have reached more than 140,000 people, the programme aims to equip workers with skills relevant to an AI-driven economy, reinforcing the link between digital infrastructure and human capital development.

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Georgia hosts EPO talks on patents and technology transfer

European Patent Office President António Campinos visited Tbilisi for high-level meetings and a joint conference with Georgia’s National Intellectual Property Center, Sakpatenti, focused on the role of patents in technology transfer.

During the visit, Campinos met Georgia’s Minister of Education, Science and Youth, Givi Mikanadze. Discussions covered the contribution of patent systems to economic development, innovation policy, international technology cooperation, and Georgia’s alignment with European patent practices.

The meetings also highlighted cooperation between the European Patent Office and Sakpatenti, including Georgia’s validation agreement with the EPO, which the statement says has resulted in more than 300 validation requests in two years. Mikanadze said:

‘The validation agreement supports IP development in Georgia by establishing an environment where knowledge transforms into innovation.‘

At the conference, titled ‘From Research to Impact: The Role of Patents in Technology Transfer’, Campinos said:

‘Technology transfer, foreign investment, and the development of new technologies depend on strong research, skilled intellectual property professionals, and solid legal frameworks. Patents and our validation agreement, by providing legal certainty, predictability, and clear professional standards, support researchers, universities, businesses of all sizes, and individual inventors in moving ideas from the laboratory to the market.‘

The programme also addressed professional qualifications and patent skills, with the EPO highlighting certification frameworks such as the European Qualifying Examination and the European Patent Administration Certification.

Why does it matter?

Stronger patent cooperation can affect how easily research moves into commercial use, how attractive a market is for technology investment, and how predictable protection is for innovators operating across borders. In Georgia, the validation agreement is presented as part of a broader effort to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem and its links with European patent practice.

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WHO launches AI Community of Practice for emergency response surveillance

The World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has launched a Community of Practice on AI for disaster and emergency response surveillance through the WHO Collaboratory platform.

According to the organisation, the initiative brings together national authorities, practitioners, researchers, partners, and WHO staff to share knowledge, build capacity, and develop practical guidance on the use of AI in surveillance, early warning, risk assessment, and operational response.

WHO says the Community of Practice is part of its AI Literacy Programme and is intended to strengthen national and regional capacity to evaluate, adopt, govern, and scale AI tools during disasters and health emergencies. Members will have access to training modules, peer-to-peer learning, technical working groups, and a repository of best practices and tested guidance.

The organisation states that the platform prioritises the ethical, equitable, and transparent use of AI in line with its standards. Dr Annette Heinzelmann, WHO Regional Emergency Director, a.i., said:

‘At WHO, we advocate for the science-driven use of artificial intelligence in public health response, especially during emergencies.‘

Heizelmann added:

‘Our priority is to ensure these technologies are applied in ways that are safe, ethical and grounded in public health needs. This initiative reflects our commitment to supporting Member States in translating innovation into faster, more effective emergency response.‘

WHO says it launched the All-Hazards Information Management Toolkit last year as an AI-powered tool to support emergency information management, including rapid risk assessments, response plans, monitoring tools, and situation reports. According to WHO, participants from 20 countries were trained in the use of the toolkit and in AI literacy for emergency preparedness and surveillance.

Dr Oliver Morgan, Head of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, said: ‘Artificial intelligence has enormous potential in public health, but its impact depends on how responsibly and effectively it is applied.’

Morgan expanded: ‘At the WHO Hub in Berlin, we develop innovative tools and bring experts together through initiatives like the Collaboratory to support countries and regions to detect health threats faster and respond more effectively. This Community of Practice helps ensure AI solutions move beyond pilots and into real-world emergency response, where speed, trust and usability matter most.’

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AI needs digital public infrastructure to work for citizens, World Economic Forum says

The World Economic Forum says AI will only improve public services at scale if governments build on strong digital public infrastructure rather than fragmented systems and isolated pilot projects.

In a new analysis, the WEF points to digital identity, payments, and data exchange as the core layers that already support service delivery in many countries.

It argues that AI can make those systems more responsive by speeding up tasks such as identity verification, record retrieval, and payment processing.

But the Forum also warns that combining AI with digital public infrastructure will not work without clear safeguards. Interoperability, trust, and consent-based data use are presented as essential to making AI systems effective across public institutions while protecting users.

The wider message is that AI in government is no longer just a question of adoption. For countries hoping to scale public-sector AI, the bigger challenge is whether the underlying digital infrastructure is strong enough to support it.

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Quantum technologies tested to strengthen energy systems

Energy systems are under growing pressure from rising demand, geopolitical volatility and increasingly complex grid operations. Electrification, renewable integration and digital infrastructure growth are making power systems harder to optimise and secure with conventional tools.

The World Economic Forum’s white paper Quantum for Energy and Utilities: Key Opportunities for Energy Transition, developed with Aramco, highlights quantum technologies as complementary tools for specific high-value challenges.

Operational optimisation is one of the earliest use cases. Power networks must balance renewable generation, storage, flexible demand and grid limits in real time.

Hybrid quantum-classical approaches are being tested, including EDF and Pasqal’s electric-vehicle smart charging work, in which a neutral-atom quantum system enabled scheduling across more than 100 qubits to better align charging with grid conditions.

Quantum approaches are also being explored for materials and monitoring. Simulating batteries, hydrogen systems and carbon capture remains computationally heavy, slowing innovation.

Quantum sensing is also being trialled for emissions and infrastructure monitoring, including methane detection tests at the Flotta Oil Terminal in Scotland that captured intermittent emissions missed by periodic inspections.

Infrastructure security is another focus, especially long-term cyber risk. Trials such as Austria’s Verbund testing quantum-safe communications in live grid environments show early progress in post-quantum cryptography.

Despite advances, limitations in hardware, scalability and integration keep most applications in pilot phases, with wider adoption dependent on structured investment and clear use cases.

Why does it matter?

Energy systems are growing more complex as rising demand, renewable integration and digitalisation stretch traditional optimisation and security tools to their limits. Even in early pilots, quantum approaches could boost grid efficiency, accelerate the discovery of clean-energy materials and enhance long-term infrastructure security.

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Microsoft highlights healthcare AI use in emergency response, diagnosis, and hospital operations

Microsoft has published a source feature presenting seven examples of how AI is being used in healthcare and well-being settings in different countries.

The piece frames the examples around pressures on health systems facing tight budgets, rising demand, and growing administrative workloads, and says AI tools are being deployed to reduce documentation burdens, improve information flows, and support working conditions for clinicians and pharmacists.

According to the feature, one example comes from the Munich Fire Department, where an AI operator is being tested to handle non-emergency patient transport calls while handing cases to human staff when needed. Microsoft says the system is intended to free dispatchers to focus on life-threatening emergencies and is currently in beta testing at LMU Klinikum in Munich.

The article also points to the use of ambient clinical documentation technology in the United Kingdom. At Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Microsoft says clinicians are using Dragon Copilot to turn clinical conversations into structured medical notes, aiming to reduce paperwork and increase time with patients. The feature cites hospital estimates that the time savings could allow treatment of up to a quarter of a million additional patients each year.

In Kenya, Microsoft highlights an AI-powered app called Zendawa used by independent pharmacies to track inventory, reduce waste, and support business planning. The feature says the app helps forecast stock needs and uses sales data to support loan applications.

Another example comes from Spain, where Microsoft says DxGPT, a diagnostic support tool built on Microsoft Azure, is being used to help identify rare diseases more quickly. The feature links the tool to Foundation 29 and states that it is already integrated into Madrid’s public health system and is expanding to two additional Spanish regions.

Microsoft also points to clinician burnout and documentation pressures in the United States. At Intermountain Health, the article says Dragon Copilot has been integrated into electronic health records and rolled out to more than 2,500 clinicians, with the organisation reporting faster documentation, lower cognitive load, and improved clinician satisfaction and patient engagement.

Cybersecurity recovery is another theme in the feature. Microsoft says Osaka General Medical Center in Japan adopted Microsoft security and cloud tools after a 2022 ransomware attack that disrupted access to servers, patient data, and internal communications. The article presents the case as a broader hospital security reset rather than only a clinical AI deployment example.

A final example focuses on Ribera, a private hospital operator active in Spain, Portugal, and Central Europe. Microsoft says Ribera uses a mix of AI and digital tools to monitor chronic patients, predict risks such as pressure ulcers and falls, and test generative AI for discharge letters in routine procedures, with the stated aim of redirecting clinician time back to patient care.

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Six Spanish cities receive EIB support on electric mobility infrastructure

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched a technical advisory service to support the rollout of electric charging infrastructure in six Spanish cities participating in the European Union’s Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission: Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid, and Zaragoza.

The agreement is intended to help the cities determine investment requirements for charging infrastructure and phase in deployment by 2030.

According to the EIB, the advisory support will focus on charging infrastructure for cars, vans, and light goods vehicles, while also encouraging broader integration of electric vehicles into urban transport systems.

The service helps cities identify investment gaps, develop public-private partnership approaches, and examine European funding mechanisms for sustainable mobility projects.

All six cities are part to the European Union Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission and hold the EU Mission Label for their climate plans and investment strategies. The agreement is also intended to support the exchange of best practices and replicable models that could be used elsewhere in Spain and across Europe.

Technical assistance under the agreement is not linked to EIB financing and instead centres on advisory work. This includes building project pipelines, analysing barriers to investment and rollout, encouraging collaboration between public authorities, private investors, and sector specialists, and monitoring impacts through agreed metrics.

The advisory work will be delivered with support from the SUEZ/IDOM consultancy consortium and is financed by the InvestEU Advisory Hub. In the background section, the EIB links the initiative to the wider Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission under Horizon Europe, which aims to support climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 and use them as hubs for wider urban transition by 2050.

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South Korea leads AI patents per capita while strengthening models and policy frameworks

According to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI‘s AI Index 2026 report, South Korea leads globally in AI patents per capita, reflecting a high concentration of innovation relative to population size.

Such a measure highlights the country’s strong research and development intensity in emerging technologies.

While China and the US dominate in total patent volume, South Korea ranks first in innovation density and third in the number of notable AI models, indicating a balanced performance across research output and technological deployment.

The findings also point to rapid growth in generative AI adoption, alongside sustained legislative activity.

Over recent years, multiple AI-related laws have been enacted, positioning South Korea among the leading economies in developing governance frameworks to support innovation.

The combination of technical output, policy support and adoption trends illustrates how coordinated national strategies can strengthen AI ecosystems, linking research capacity with regulatory development and real-world application.

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UK invests in technical colleges to address skills shortages and support industry growth

The UK Government has announced the expansion of Technical Excellence Colleges, with 19 new institutions aimed at strengthening high-level technical education across key sectors.

Backed by £175 million in public funding, the initiative targets industries such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, defence and digital technologies.

The policy responds to projected labour shortages, with estimates indicating demand for hundreds of thousands of additional skilled workers by 2030.

By aligning training provision with regional economic needs, the colleges are designed to support local labour markets while contributing to national industrial priorities.

An initiative that forms part of a broader strategy to elevate technical education alongside university pathways, expanding access to higher-level learning and improving workforce readiness.

It also emphasises collaboration between institutions, with designated colleges expected to share expertise and raise standards across the system.

By strengthening skills pipelines and supporting sector-specific training, the programme in the UK aims to enhance economic resilience and ensure that workforce development keeps pace with technological and industrial change.

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