At a time when surging temperatures led to the hottest year on record, leaders around the globe are searching for new and innovative ways to accelerate climate progress further. One of the most promising, but often overlooked tools, involves accelerating the revolutionary potential of emerging connected devices and the digital transformation they enable — creating new smarter, cleaner, and greener ways to tackle our climate challenges.

Technology today is changing at a near-breakneck pace. There are exciting new developments constantly taking place, with the potential to improve lives and tackle some of the biggest challenges we face. But bad actors are also innovating and thinking of new ways to exploit an increasingly connected world. In this new environment, everyone has a responsibility to help protect the security, safety and privacy of users.

In September, I moderated a discussion in Brussels for the Munich Security Conference focusing on tech regulation in a time of strategic rivalry. The focus was on the very distinct and different approaches to regulating tech between the U.S. and the EU and the geopolitical implications of these policies.

At a time when access to the digital world has become increasingly indispensable for almost every aspect of modern life, one of the greatest challenges facing leaders today is how we extend digital opportunity to everyone. Fortunately, there are pragmatic steps within reach that policymakers and business leaders can take to ensure connectivity for all, trust for all, and opportunity for all.

Leaders of companies today need to pay attention to geopolitical, legislative, and regulatory issues. The advancement of technology is stressing governments out, and sometimes the reaction is counterproductive and the impact unintended. CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, and GCs must work together, understand the playing field, and weigh in to shape the policy path forward, as current policy decisions are shaping—sometimes not for the good—the technology and market ecosystem right now.