4 facts on the 'twin' green and digital transitions
Europe and the world are facing the challenges of the green and digital transitions, which are referred to as the 'twin transitions' due to their interdependency. One needs the other to succeed. Indeed, data-driven digital innovation is important to achieving the goals of the European Green Deal.
Nevertheless, digital technology causes high energy consumption. For example, in the European Union, digital technologies account for between 8 and 10% of energy consumption, and 2 and 4% of greenhouse gas emissions – small percentages but big numbers.
One way to help reduce that impact would be to extend the lifetime of all smartphones by just 1 year, which would save 2.1 megatons of CO2 per year by 2030, equivalent to removing 1 million cars from our roads. And switching fully from 4G to 5G mobile networks would allow for up to 90% energy savings.
The analysis of digital data can facilitate sustainable choices. According to an EU data market study, precision agriculture, notably for farm irrigation, has the potential to cut around 2 gigatons of CO₂ emissions by 2050, carpooling – 4 to 7 gigatons, smart thermostats – 7 gigatons, and smart buildings – 6 to 10 gigatons. This has enormous implications for the development of relevant skills.
The total reduction of CO2 emissions needed to reach 2050 targets is estimated at between 1,000 and 1,500 gigatons. But to achieve this, solutions must be deployed at unprecedented scale and speed. Granular data on the size of the carbon footprint, energy consumption and losses caused by climate change should not sit in silos, and needs to flow in real time to those who can put it to best use. Here too, data processing and analysis skills are an integral part of the green transition (1).
The European Central Bank and the European Systematic Risk Board put the cost of failing to act on climate change at a huge 20% decline in global GDP by 2100.
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Sources: Green digital sector | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) Results of the new European Data Market study 2021-2023 | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)
(1) Find out more about how big data analysis can help identify green and digital skills by joining the ETF webinar on 5 April at 10:00 AM CEST.