Scientific publications seemingly have plenty to say about the environmental footprint of digital services and equipment, but tend to overlook the sector’s potential contribution to decarbonising economic activity. A July 2024 study published by France Stratégie (the Prime Minister’s assessment and proposals department) offers a number of responses. Anne Faure, Digital Economy Project Lead at France Stratégie, unpacks its contents.
©France Stratégie Thierry Marro
What sparked France Stratégie’s interest in the contribution of digital technology to decarbonising the economy?
A.F.: The scientific literature is fairly well informed on the emissions caused by the use of digital technology (the ecological impact of the manufacture, use and life cycle of equipment and services). It is estimated that these emissions represent around 2.5% of France’s carbon footprint – and 3% worldwide – with projections suggesting a 45% increase between 2020 and 2030.
On the other hand, digital’s potential contribution to decarbonisation tends to evade analysis and observation. In this study, we wanted to provide a snapshot of current knowledge levels, acknowledge the issues raised by the sector’s contribution to decarbonisation, and highlight the numerous rebound effects complicating the problem. All this should provide fuel for the debate between all the interested parties.
What was your methodological approach?
A.F.: The scope and complexity of the topic forced us to make certain choices. There are relatively few digital solutions dedicated to reducing emissions in any sector. Our working hypothesis was that the greatest potential lies in the most energy-intensive sectors, such as energy, building and transport, which are accordingly the most frequently targeted by decarbonisation policies. These sectors are also – by no means coincidentally – particularly closely scrutinised and reported on in the scientific literature.
That is why we chose to concentrate on use cases taken from these different sectors, exploring four digital applications that appeared promising: smart grids, smart household energy management, teleworking, and carpooling.
Let’s start with smart grids, or intelligent electricity networks…
A.F.: In 2017, a study by RTE offered an initial assessment of their impact on the French electricity network. Based on an analysis of four solutions: storage, domestic smart meters, industrial and commercial demand management, and wind production, RTE estimated that smart grid solutions would allow a net emissions saving of approximately 0.8 MtCO2 a year by 2030.
En 2017, une étude réalisée par RTE a fourni une première évaluation de leur impact sur le réseau électrique français. En se fondant sur l’analyse de quatre solutions (stockage, compteurs intelligents domestiques, gestion de la demande industrielle et tertiaire, production éolienne), RTE estimait alors que les solutions de smart grids permettraient un gain net d’émissions d’environ 0,8 MtCO2 par an à l’horizon 2030.
“Teleworking will have only a modest effect on reducing emissions.”
This study is more than seven years old, but there is nothing newer. RTE is working on this and should soon be able to update and clarify certain points. It would be interesting to see more analysis of presumed high-potential applications for which the research lacks reference data, such as smart management of EVCI (electric vehicle charging infrastructure).
©Thibault Desplats
What were the findings of your study on teleworking?
A.F.: Aside from the difficulty of determining precisely what teleworking practices look like now and will in the future – although undoubtedly the most likely hypothesis is that it will stabilise – the key takeaway is that teleworking will only have a modest effect on reducing emissions.
In the best-case scenario – flex-office solutions with a reduction in the office space used – the annual saving amounts to 413 kg CO2eq.
In the two other scenarios, the median and worst-case, the savings are reduced by some of the rebound effects of teleworking (an increase in journeys other than home-to-work commuting, and increased CO2 emissions). On this point – and ADEME, among others, is really concerned about this – consumer/user/public behaviour is, and will be, a key factor in how these trends play out.
Through the use cases studied, you describe real but modest potential sources of decarbonisation…
A.F.: In its most recent report, published in 2023, the IPCC pointed out that digital technologies could contribute significantly to decarbonisation, but also highlighted the environmental risks inherent in an uncontrolled digital transformation, which could generate steep growth in energy consumption. The use cases we have explored here at French national level also show that the positive effects on emissions levels remain modest compared with what we could legitimately have hoped for in the sectors concerned.
Does that mean the priority must be to minimise the negative impacts of digital?
A.F.: Yes. But it is important to highlight digital technology’s contribution to decarbonisation even more clearly, and as scientifically as possible, because whatever conclusions these analyses end up with, we will absolutely need reliable, reference-based instruments that take account of the complexity of the forces at work and the challenges they bring, to accelerate decarbonisation in line with the French and European Union trajectory, i.e. climate neutrality by 2050.
04/17/2025
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