Keyvisual_Klimaeffekte der Digitalisierung

First results of Bitkom study “The digital economy’s impact on the climate”

Digital technologies can contribute almost half to Germany achieving its 2030 climate goals. This emerges from the first results of a study by the digital sector’s business association Bitkom, conducted by Accenture. In the four areas examined so far, CO2 emissions in Germany can be reduced by as much as 120 megatonnes in 2030 through targeted and accelerated deployment of digital solutions. That corresponds to almost one of every two tonnes that Germany still has to save if it is to reach the climate objectives it has set itself. The possible contribution could even exceed 50% if other fields of application are included. The greatest potential is found in the areas of industrial manufacture and mobility.

However, the study does not look only at the potential for CO2 savings but also at the carbon footprint of the digital infrastructure itself and calculates the net impact on the climate. On this measure, the CO2 savings potential with moderate digitization is four times greater than the footprint and five times greater with accelerated digitization.

Accelerated digitization not only contributes to environmental and climate protection, it also improves the competitiveness of the German economy. Digitization can reconcile economic growth with environmental and climate protection. What is needed now is targeted and daring support from policymakers and decisive action by decision makers at the top of the corporate ladder.

Zur deutschen Version

Themen

Melissa Kühn

Referentin Nachhaltigkeit

Bitkom e.V.

Download

First results of Bitkom study „The digital economy’s impact on the climate“

Climate objectives in Germany

Whereas CO2 emissions in 2019 were still at the level of 805 megatonnes of CO_2E, the equivalent figure in 2030 needs to be just 543 megatonnes of CO_2E. In other words, 262 megatonnes less of CO_2E will have to be emitted in 2030 than were emitted last year.

Areas examined

The study has examined a total of seven clusters for digital technologies in which a particularly large CO2 savings impact can be achieved. The first four clusters have already been conclusively analyzed: Industrial Manufacturing, Mobility, Buildings and Work & Business. In spring 2021 they will be followed by Agriculture, Energy and Health, which will likely accentuate the CO2 savings impact even more.

Methodology

The method is oriented on the worldwide GeSI “SMARTer2030” report drawn up by Accenture in 2015 in the run-up to the 21^st UN Climate Conference in Paris. The CO2 savings potential including the carbon footprint of digital infrastructure has now been examined taking Germany as a concrete example. The study explores the climate impact of digitization in 2030 under two different scenarios:

Moderate digitization: The tempo of introduction and dissemination of digital technologies evolves as it has done over the last five to ten years in Germany. The framework conditions and incentives are as they are now – or as firmly planned between now and 2030.
Accelerated digitization: The tempo of introduction, dissemination and use of digital technologies increases sharply thanks to politically inspired incentives.

Results in the individual areas

The speed at which the deployment of digital technologies is driven forward over the next decade will be decisive. Thus, the study calculates the CO2 savings potential of the four areas considered to be around 78 megatonnes of CO_2E in 2030 if digitization develops at a moderate rate similar to what is currently the case in Germany – that is 30% of the necessary CO2 savings. However, with accelerated and targeted digitization, the reduction is clearly greater at 120 megatonnes of CO_2E and accounts for 46% of the necessary savings. Here is an overview of the results of the study in the four areas examined:

Carbon footprint of digitization

The study not only examines the potential of digitization but also the CO2 emissions generated by technologies themselves. For instance, the production and operation of devices such as smartphones, computers or tablets but also the operation of network infrastructure and data centers. If digitization moves forward at a moderate rate, this generates around 16 megatonnes of CO_2E a year. With accelerated digitization, the equivalent figure rises to 22 megatonnes. Overall, the study concludes that the CO2 savings potential of the digital technologies examined here is around five times higher than their own emissions.

Net effect of digitization

When the two climate impacts are placed side by side, we can see that there is a net savings potential of 24% of the CO2 savings needed to reach Germany’s climate objectives with moderate digitization (left). The net savings potential rises to 38% with accelerated digitization (right).