Systems thinking and efficiency under emissions constraints: Addressing rebound effects in digital innovation and policy.
Systems thinking and efficiency under emissions constraints: Addressing rebound effects in digital innovation and policy.
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DOI：
10.1016/j.patter.2023.100679
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发表时间：
2023-02-10
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Penzenstadler B
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Widdicks K;Lucivero F;Samuel G;Croxatto LS;Smith MT;Holter CT;Berners-Lee M;Blair GS;Jirotka M;Knowles B;Sorrell S;Rivera MB;Cook C;Coroamă VC;Foxon TJ;Hardy J;Hilty LM;Hinterholzer S;Penzenstadler B
数字技术的创新和效率近来被描述为绿色转型的关键，以便在信息和通信技术（ICT）部门以及更广泛的经济领域减少温室气体排放。然而，这没有充分考虑到可能抵消减排量的反弹效应，在最坏的情况下，还会增加排放。从这个角度出发，我们借鉴了一个跨学科研讨会的成果，该研讨会有来自碳核算、数字可持续性研究、伦理学、社会学、公共政策和可持续商业的19位专家参与，揭示了在数字创新过程和相关政策中应对反弹效应所面临的挑战。我们运用负责任的创新方法来探索在这些领域纳入反弹效应的潜在前进方向，得出的结论是，解决与ICT相关的反弹效应最终需要从以ICT效率为中心的视角转变为“系统思维”模式，该模式旨在将效率理解为多种解决方案中的一种，要实现ICT的环境效益就需要对排放加以限制。
在数字创新和相关政策中必须考虑信息通信技术（ICT）的环境影响，以减轻ICT对气候变化的影响。减少ICT排放的一个提议方案是提高效率，但这没有考虑到反弹效应，即效率提高抵消了减排量或增加了排放。从这个角度出发，我们揭示了一个跨学科研讨会的见解，该研讨会确定了为什么反弹效应难以纳入创新和政策的挑战。据此，我们呼吁研究人员（1）找到向数字创新者和政策制定者呈现反弹效应的新方法；（2）收集ICT反弹效应的跨学科证据；（3）透明地综合分析ICT的环境、社会和经济影响。我们还呼吁采用系统思维方法来应对ICT的环境影响，从而使反弹效应的解决方案变得清晰：排放限制下的效率。
当ICT效率提高抵消了减排量或增加了排放时，反弹效应就会在数字领域出现。在可持续的ICT的数字创新和相关政策中必须考虑这些效应；然而，通过一个跨学科研讨会我们确定了一些关键挑战，并在此角度进行了讨论。我们呼吁未来的工作解决这些挑战，并采用系统思维方法来考虑ICT的环境影响。由此，反弹效应的解决方案变得清晰：排放限制下的效率。
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. Information communication technology (ICT)’s environmental impact must be considered in digital innovation and associated policy to mitigate ICT’s climate change contribution. A proposed solution to reduce ICT emissions is by improving efficiency, yet this fails to consider rebound effects where efficiency improvements offset emissions savings or increase emissions. In this perspective, we reveal insights from a transdisciplinary workshop that identified challenges for why rebound effects are difficult to include in innovation and policy. From this, we call researchers to (1) find new ways of presenting rebound effects to digital innovators and policymakers; (2) gather cross-disciplinary evidence of ICT rebound effects; and (3) transparently analyze ICT’s environmental, societal, and economic impacts together. We also call for a systems thinking approach to addressing ICT’s environmental impacts, whereby a solution to rebound effects becomes visible: efficiencies under emission constraints. Rebound effects occur in the digital sector when ICT efficiency improvements offset emissions savings or increase emissions. These must be considered in digital innovation and associated policy for sustainable ICT; however, there are key challenges to this that we identify through a transdisciplinary workshop and discuss in this perspective. We call for future work to address these challenges and to take a systems thinking approach for considering ICT’s environmental impacts. From this, a solution to rebound effects becomes visible: efficiencies under emissions constraints.
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DOI：
10.1016/j.patter.2021.100340
发表时间：
2021-09-10
期刊：
Patterns (New York, N.Y.)
影响因子：
--
作者：
Freitag C;Berners-Lee M;Widdicks K;Knowles B;Blair GS;Friday A
通讯作者：
Friday A
影响因子：
1.9
作者：
Garrity, Edward J.
通讯作者：
Garrity, Edward J.
影响因子：
7
作者：
Lange, Steffen;Pohl, Johanna;Santarius, Tilman
通讯作者：
Santarius, Tilman
影响因子：
8.5
作者：
Coroama, Vlad C.;Hilty, Lorenz M.;Birtel, Martin
通讯作者：
Birtel, Martin
影响因子：
9
作者：
Fouquet, Roger
通讯作者：
Fouquet, Roger