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Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Systems Thinking and Efficiency under Emissions Constraints
T2 - Addressing Rebound Effects in Digital Innovation and Policy
AU - Widdicks, Kelly
AU - Lucivero, Federica
AU - Samuel, Gabrielle
AU - Somavilla Croxatto, Lucas
AU - Smith, Marcia Tavares
AU - Ten Holter, Carolyn
AU - Berners-Lee, Mike
AU - Blair, Gordon
AU - Jirotka, Marina
AU - Knowles, Bran
AU - Sorrell, Steven
AU - Börjesson Rivera, Miriam
AU - Cook, Caroline
AU - Coroamă, Vlad C.
AU - Foxon, Timothy J.
AU - Hardy, Jeffrey
AU - Hilty, Lorenz M.
AU - Hinterholzer, Simon
AU - Penzenstadler, Birgit
PY - 2023/2/10
Y1 - 2023/2/10
N2 - Innovations and efficiencies in digital technology have lately been depicted as paramount in the green transition to enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, both in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the wider economy. This, however, fails to adequately account for rebound effects that can offset emission savings and, in the worst case, increase emissions. In this perspective, we draw on a transdisciplinary workshop with 19 experts from carbon accounting, digital sustainability research, ethics, sociology, public policy, and sustainable business to expose the challenges of addressing rebound effects in digital innovation processes and associated policy. We utilize a responsible innovation approach to uncover potential ways forward for incorporating rebound effects in these domains, concluding that addressing ICT-related rebound effects ultimately requires a shift from an ICT efficiency-centered perspective to a “systems thinking” model, which aims to understand efficiency as one solution among others that requires constraints on emissions for ICT environmental savings to be realized.
AB - Innovations and efficiencies in digital technology have lately been depicted as paramount in the green transition to enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, both in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the wider economy. This, however, fails to adequately account for rebound effects that can offset emission savings and, in the worst case, increase emissions. In this perspective, we draw on a transdisciplinary workshop with 19 experts from carbon accounting, digital sustainability research, ethics, sociology, public policy, and sustainable business to expose the challenges of addressing rebound effects in digital innovation processes and associated policy. We utilize a responsible innovation approach to uncover potential ways forward for incorporating rebound effects in these domains, concluding that addressing ICT-related rebound effects ultimately requires a shift from an ICT efficiency-centered perspective to a “systems thinking” model, which aims to understand efficiency as one solution among others that requires constraints on emissions for ICT environmental savings to be realized.
KW - ICT
KW - Environmental impacts
KW - Rebound effects
KW - Systems thinking
KW - Emissions constraints
KW - Digital innovation
KW - Policy
U2 - 10.1016/j.patter.2023.100679
DO - 10.1016/j.patter.2023.100679
M3 - Journal article
VL - 4
JO - Patterns
JF - Patterns
SN - 2666-3899
IS - 2
M1 - 100679
ER -