… Co-authors include William Ruto, president of Kenya; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation; Jeffrey D. Sachs, economist; others
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has launched a new publication tackling how nations can foster job creation, economic prosperity, and resilience without repeating past development errors or breaching planetary boundaries.
The book titled ‘Future of Industrialisation: Rethinking Economic Development ‘ was edited by Gerd Mller, DG, UNIDO and unveiled in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Hosted at the Penn Club, the launch event was co-organised by UNIDO in collaboration with Columbia University’s Centre for Sustainable Development and the International Organisation of Employers.
Through its core message, the publication calls on the international community to reimagine what industrial growth can achieve through the power of global cooperation. Although industrialisation built the modern world, the book argues that it must now be reframed into a story of opportunity amid mounting geopolitical and economic challenges.
In his opening reflections, Mller pointed out that traditional growth trajectories are no longer viable, saying, ‘The old model of industrialisation, based on fossil fuels, resource extraction, and exclusion, has run its course,’ he stated. ‘We need a new model, one that is green, fair, inclusive, innovation-driven, and fit for the future.’
To achieve this shift, the book advocates for an urgent, practical, and visionary industrial agenda. It emphasises turning digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and fair supply chains into drivers of inclusion, thereby enabling developing countries to leapfrog outdated economic frameworks.
However, addressing the technological dimension, Mller cautioned that progress requires deliberate oversight: ‘Digitalisation and AI present the most powerful engine for future productivity, but also the gravest risk of exacerbating inequalities within and between nations, making a proactive governance and capacity-building agenda essential.’
To capture diverse perspectives on this transformation, the publication gathers insights from a lineup of heads of state, international executives, and academic scholars. Alongside Mller as editor, prominent contributors include William Ruto, president of Kenya; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO); Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados; Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Christian Klein, CEO of SAP; and Jeffrey D. Sachs, professor and director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.
Elaborating on the strategic potential for emerging economies within this framework, President Ruto highlighted Africa’s pivotal role, saying, ‘The global community stands at a crossroads: continue with business as usual or choose a new path of sustainable prosperity by decoupling growth from carbon emissions’
‘For Africa, this is also a tremendous opportunity as our continent can be a hub of green growth that benefits the whole world’, he noted.
Underpinning these leadership perspectives is a shared consensus that fundamental systemic change is required rather than surface-level adjustments. As Sachs notes, ‘The green transition is not a simple environmental ‘add-on’ to an otherwise stable economic model. The green transition requires a deep reengineering of the economy.’