Assessing Barriers to the Adoption of Green Technologies in Developing Countries by Using an Integrated Decision-Making System

Jan 1, 2026·
Muhammad Ikram
,
Jinane Es-sadki
· 2 min read
Abstract
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set a global agenda to advance sustainability by exerting environmental pressures and promoting cleaner production. Achieving these targets depends heavily on the adoption of green technologies, yet several persistent barriers continue to impede the effective implementation of green technologies. Therefore, this study develops an integrated decision support system to assess Green Technology Adoption (GTA) barriers and explore potential strategies to overcome them effectively. After reviewing the literature and consulting with field experts, seven major categories of barriers: institutional, financial, market, technological, regulatory, environmental, and social barriers, and 26 sub‐barriers were identified and analyzed. A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was applied to rank the main and sub barriers and then used the Fuzzy VIekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (FVIKOR) method to prioritize the 11 potential solution strategies. The results reveal that financial barriers (FB), technological barriers (TB), and regulatory barriers (RB) are the most pressing, whereas natural resource dependency (EB1), limited institutional capacity (IB3), and climate challenges (EB2) were ranked the most influencing sub‐barriers. Moreover, resilience programs for green tech jobs (SO7) and investment in digital technologies (SO6) ranked the top potential strategic solutions to mitigate the GTA barriers. This study provides actionable guidance for developing economies pursuing green transitions under economic and governance constraints, offering policymakers and practitioners a clear, systematic roadmap for designing resilient sustainability strategies.
Type
Publication
Sustainable Development, 34(3), 4309–4333
publication

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set a global agenda to advance sustainability by exerting environmental pressures and promoting cleaner production. Achieving these targets depends heavily on the adoption of green technologies, yet several persistent barriers continue to impede the effective implementation of green technologies. Therefore, this study develops an integrated decision support system to assess Green Technology Adoption (GTA) barriers and explore potential strategies to overcome them effectively. After reviewing the literature and consulting with field experts, seven major categories of barriers: institutional, financial, market, technological, regulatory, environmental, and social barriers, and 26 sub‐barriers were identified and analyzed. A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was applied to rank the main and sub barriers and then used the Fuzzy VIekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (FVIKOR) method to prioritize the 11 potential solution strategies. The results reveal that financial barriers (FB), technological barriers (TB), and regulatory barriers (RB) are the most pressing, whereas natural resource dependency (EB1), limited institutional capacity (IB3), and climate challenges (EB2) were ranked the most influencing sub‐barriers. Moreover, resilience programs for green tech jobs (SO7) and investment in digital technologies (SO6) ranked the top potential strategic solutions to mitigate the GTA barriers. This study provides actionable guidance for developing economies pursuing green transitions under economic and governance constraints, offering policymakers and practitioners a clear, systematic roadmap for designing resilient sustainability strategies.