Scientific Explorations of Technological Paths for Fostering Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability

One of the fundamental issues associated with the achievement of sustainable development in is to identify technological and scientific applications addressing the degradation of environmental systems (atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere), and concomitant risks to health and human well-being. This study detects, with an empirical analysis based on patents and publications in sustainability science, technologies pointing the way to ecological transition for a sustainable global society, such as carbon capture storage and utilization, clean steel production, green hydrogen, blockchain technology for sustainability, etc. These results help to understand technological pathways and promising applications for an achieving simultaneously, whenever possible, environmental protection and sustainable development. The technologies that foster fruitful interactions between natural and social systems can solve local and global problems of present and future generations by supporting factors for reducing poverty and conserving the planet's life support systems