Opportunities and Challenges of Blockchain in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Dear Colleagues,

In 2015, the United Nations announced 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), guiding the world to act together towards sustainability. The goal is to jointly address issues, including poverty, water pollution, climate change, and urban sustainability, by 2030. Some past studies have shown that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can provide opportunities and help in achieving the SDGs. As the most-watched emerging information and communication technology in recent years, Blockchain brings about new opportunities and impacts for the public and private sectors in many areas. While the initial applications of Blockchain were concentrated in the financial sector, as it has evolved, its use has expanded to other areas. However, there is a lack of academic efforts to establish a theoretical framework for the achievement of the SDGs with Blockchain. This Special Issue focuses mainly on how Blockchain can be a digital enabler to help government or enterprises achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We encourage original research articles, success stories, or comprehensive reviews of Blockchain-based information systems corresponding to the SDGs. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Empirical research of the adoption of Blockchain in information systems to achieve the SDGs;
• Technological, organizational, or regulatory challenges posed by Blockchain-based information systems for the SDGs;
• Case studies on the implementation of Blockchain-based information systems for the SDGs;
• Convergence of Blockchain and other emerging technologies for the SDGs.

Prof. Dr. Shu-Fen Tu
Prof. Dr. Ching-Sheng Hsu
Guest Editors

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