As the clock ticks towards the 2030 deadline, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals loom large as a challenge to global society. These 17 goals are intended to encompass everything from eradicating poverty and ensuring clean water access to mitigating climate change. The pressure to meet these targets is immense, but with only six years remaining, it’s clear that creativity in approach may be required.
Recently, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Accenture, released a report on how quantum technologies—namely quantum computing, sensing, and communication—could help achieve the SDGs. Their conclusion is that while quantum is still under development, its potential impact on society is significant, especially when strategically used in order to advance these sustainability goals. However, aligning that potential with the reality of 2030 introduces challenges that must be addressed now.
2030: A Pivotal Year for Quantum and Sustainability
To put the timeline into perspective, consider that Quantinuum recently announced its roadmap to universal, fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2030. Their latest advancements include milestones such as achieving 12 logical qubits, which represents a step towards creating systems that may be able to handle the complex algorithms needed to tackle real-world problems such as climate modeling, drug discovery, and financial optimization.
The WEF’s report mirrors this optimism, suggesting that quantum technologies could be central to the progress toward the SDGs. As noted in the report, quantum sensing stands out as a near-term opportunity for applications such as monitoring water quality and optimizing clean energy grids—solutions that could have immediate societal benefits.
But as both the WEF and Accenture caution, the path between today’s early-stage quantum technologies and their effective deployment by 2030 remains fraught with challenges. Fault-tolerant quantum computing is not expected until close to the end of the decade, and that itself is a guess. Meanwhile, developing the necessary infrastructure, workforce, and ecosystem to support quantum technologies at scale is a task all its own.
Key Technologies to Address Specific SDGs
The WEF report outlines specific quantum technologies that may have the most significant impact on specific SDGs. For instance:
- Quantum sensing could play a part in addressing SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) through water quality monitoring and treatment.
- Quantum communication may provide ultra-secure data transmission that could strengthen global infrastructure, advancing SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
- Quantum computing may be relevant for SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) through advancements in material science, such as more efficient solar cells and new catalysts for carbon capture.
In addition to direct application, the report notes that these technologies offer the potential for a multiplier effect, impacting multiple SDGs simultaneously. For example, improving water quality through quantum sensing also ties into health and well-being (SDG 3) and environmental sustainability (SDG 13).
The State of Quantum Today: Promising but Early-Stage
Despite the promise, much of quantum technology is still in active development. As WEF’s report states, the challenge is not just building quantum hardware, but also developing algorithms that take advantage of quantum systems’ unique capabilities. This complexity requires a multi-disciplinary approach, bringing together quantum scientists, domain experts, and policymakers.
Even in the realm of quantum sensing, which is closer to commercialization, hurdles remain. Quantum sensors are expected to impact industries like healthcare and agriculture, but the adoption rate is slow, and current technologies are competing against well-established classical alternatives.
Meanwhile, quantum computing remains in the “noisy intermediate-scale quantum” era, where error rates and qubit coherence times are limiting its usefulness. Quantinuum’s roadmap is ambitious, but it highlights there is still plenty of work to do to reach full fault-tolerance.
The Answer is in Collaboration and Strategic Focus
Both the WEF and Accenture emphasize that collaboration is a nonnegotiable requirement for reaching the level of quantum technology development needed for practical use . They mention that the global quantum ecosystem is still fragmented, with investments focusing primarily on industry-driven use cases like financial optimization and pharmaceutical research while social impact applications, such as climate modeling or clean water solutions, have seen far less funding and attention.
For quantum technologies to contribute meaningfully to the SDGs by 2030, governments, private enterprises, and academic institutions would need to align their priorities. Strategic funding for early-stage, high-potential applications, particularly in developing countries, could be beneficial. Public-private partnerships would also be integral for accelerating innovation and promoting equitable access to quantum technologies.
Proceed with Skepticism and Caution
Given the complexity of these challenges, a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted. WEF and Accenture acknowledge that many experts caution that the timelines for widespread, practical deployment remain uncertain, and the real challenge lies in moving beyond proofs of concept to building scalable, reliable quantum systems that can solve the pressing issues facing society.
Moreover, the environmental footprint of quantum computing requires further investigation. While quantum machines may hold the potential for greater energy efficiency than classical supercomputers, the cooling systems and infrastructure needed to maintain them at scale could offset these gains. Sustainable-by-design quantum computing will be essential to ensure that the technology doesn’t inadvertently exacerbate the very problems it aims to solve.
Only Time Will Tell
From improving water quality to optimizing renewable energy systems, the potential to apply quantum technology to reach our larger goals is there. But turning that potential into reality by 2030 will require more than just technological advancements—it will demand collaboration, strategic prioritization, and a relentless focus on building the necessary infrastructure and workforce.
