Systems thinking and efficiency under emissions constraints: Addressing rebound effects in digital innovation and policy
Review article, 2023
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.
rebound effects
policy
environmental impacts
systems thinking
ICT
emissions constraints
digital innovation
DSML 1: Concept: Basic principles of a new data science output observed and reported
Author
Kelly Widdicks
Lancaster University
Federica Lucivero
University of Oxford
Gabrielle Samuel
King's College London
Lucas Somavilla Croxatto
University of Oxford
University College London (UCL)
Marcia Tavares Smith
Lancaster University
Carolyn Ten Holter
University of Oxford
Mike Berners-Lee
Small World Consulting
Gordon S. Blair
Lancaster University
UK Centre For Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)
Marina Jirotka
University of Oxford
Bran Knowles
Lancaster University
Steven Sorrell
University of Sussex
Miriam Börjesson Rivera
Uppsala University
Caroline Cook
Baillie Gifford
Vlad C. Coroamă
Technische Universität Berlin
Timothy J. Foxon
University of Sussex
Jeffrey Hardy
Imperial College London
Lorenz M. Hilty
University of Zürich
Simon Hinterholzer
Borderstep Institute
Birgit Penzenstadler
Chalmers, Computer Science and Engineering (Chalmers), Interaction Design and Software Engineering
Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT)
Patterns
26663899 (eISSN)
Vol. 4 2 100679Subject Categories
Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Other Environmental Engineering
Environmental Management
DOI
10.1016/j.patter.2023.100679
PubMed
36873905