Digitalization and the Anthropocene

Creutzig, Felix; Acemoğlu, Daron; Bai, Xuemei; Edwards, Paul N.; Hintz, Marie Josefine; Kaack, Lynn H.; Kılkış, Şiir; Kunkel, Stefanie; Luers, Amy; Milojevic-Dupont, Nikola; Rejeski, Dave; Renn, Jürgen; Rolnick, David; Rosol, Christoph; Russ, Daniela; Turnbull, Thomas; Verdolini, Elena; Wagner, Felix; Wilson, Charlie; Zekar, Aicha; Zumwald, Marius

doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-120920-100056

Cited by 40 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 141 publications

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“…For example, digital tools are being leveraged by many to increase efficiencies in industry and service provisions. However, emission reductions made through these efficiency improvements in the absence of regulations and governance may be offset by increased consumption, leading to more energy use and resource extraction (Andersen et al, 2021; Creutzig et al, 2022a).…”

Section: Ten New Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ten new insights in climate science 2022

et al. 2022

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Non-technical summary We summarize what we assess as the past year's most important findings within climate change research: limits to adaptation, vulnerability hotspots, new threats coming from the climate–health nexus, climate (im)mobility and security, sustainable practices for land use and finance, losses and damages, inclusive societal climate decisions and ways to overcome structural barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C. Technical summary We synthesize 10 topics within climate research where there have been significant advances or emerging scientific consensus since January 2021. The selection of these insights was based on input from an international open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings concern: (1) new aspects of soft and hard limits to adaptation; (2) the emergence of regional vulnerability hotspots from climate impacts and human vulnerability; (3) new threats on the climate–health horizon – some involving plants and animals; (4) climate (im)mobility and the need for anticipatory action; (5) security and climate; (6) sustainable land management as a prerequisite to land-based solutions; (7) sustainable finance practices in the private sector and the need for political guidance; (8) the urgent planetary imperative for addressing losses and damages; (9) inclusive societal choices for climate-resilient development and (10) how to overcome barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C. Social media summary Science has evidence on barriers to mitigation and how to overcome them to avoid limits to adaptation across multiple fields.

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Section: Ten New Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ten new insights in climate science 2022

et al. 2022

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“…In addition, general purpose technologies with pervasive effects across sectors also play a key role, e.g. digitalization (Wilson et al 2020b, Creutzig et al 2022a.…”

Section: Analytical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social innovation enablers to unlock a low energy demand future

Niamir,

Verdolini,

Nemet

2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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We initiate the process of developing a comprehensive Low Energy Demand (LED) innovation narrative by applying the framework “Functions of Innovation Systems” (FIS) and identifying the key conditions under which technology interventions can be improved and scaled up over the next three decades to contribute to climate change mitigation. Several studies have argued that the potential for LED-focused mitigation is much larger than previously portrayed and have shown that adopting a wide variety of energy-reducing activities would achieve emissions reductions compatible with a 1.5C temperature target. Yet, how realistic achieving such a scenario might be or what processes would need to be in place to create a pathway to a LED outcome in mid-century, remain overlooked. This study contributes to understanding LED’s mitigation potential by outlining narratives of LED innovation in three end-use sectors: industry, transport, and buildings. Our analysis relies on the FIS approach to assess three innovations in these sectors. A key insight is that the distinct characteristics of LED technology make enabling social innovations crucial for their widespread adoption. Finally, we identify a set of eight social enablers required for unlocking LED pathways.

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“…The global economy is in the middle of a structural transformation involving digitalisation, dematerialisation and decarbonisation (Grübler 1998 p 281, Nakicenovic et al 2021, Creutzig et al 2022). These transformations are associated with transitions in the use of energy and information to generate output and wealth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The digitalisation, dematerialisation and decarbonisation of the global economy in historical perspective: the relationship between energy and information since 1850

Fouquet

2023

Environ. Res. Lett.

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To better understand the processes of digitalisation, dematerialisation and decarbonisation, this paper examines the relationship between energy and information for the global economy since 1850. It presents the long run trends in energy intensity and communication intensity, as a proxy for total information intensity. The evidence suggests that, relative to GDP, global economic production has been reducing energy and increasing information use since 1913. The analysis indicates that it initially required little information to replace energy in production and that the ability to substitute away from energy and towards information has been declining. The result implies that the global economy is now reducing energy and increasing information at a substitution rate of 0.2 kB per kWh of conserved energy or 0.8 GB per tonne of carbon dioxide mitigated. As the price ratio of energy to information is currently higher than this marginal rate of substitution, there are incentives to further substitute information for energy. However, one conclusion is that (without the long run escalation of carbon prices) substitution away from energy and towards information is likely to cease within the next few decades and, beyond that, digitalisation will play a declining role in the decarbonisation process.

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Digitalization and the Anthropocene

Cited by 40 publications

References 141 publications

Ten new insights in climate science 2022

Ten new insights in climate science 2022

Social innovation enablers to unlock a low energy demand future

The digitalisation, dematerialisation and decarbonisation of the global economy in historical perspective: the relationship between energy and information since 1850

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