Peter Arnfalk
Senior lecturer
The relevance of information and communication technologies for environmental sustainability - A prospective simulation study
Author
Summary, in English
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have relevant positive and negative impacts on environmental sustainability on various levels: First-order effects such as increasing electronic waste streams; second-order effects such as improved energy-efficiency of production; third-order effects such as a product-to-service shift in consumption or rebound effects in transport. In the simulation study described in this article, all known relevant effects on all three levels were modeled using a System Dynamics approach in combination with scenario techniques and expert consultations. The prospective study for the European Union with a time-horizon until 2020 revealed great potential for ICT-supported energy management and for a structural change towards a less material-intensive economy, but strong rebound effects in the transport sector whenever ICT applications lead to time or cost savings for transport. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Department/s
- The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Publishing year
2006
Language
English
Pages
1618-1629
Publication/Series
Environmental Modelling & Software
Volume
21
Issue
11
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Keywords
- structural change
- system dynamics
- and simulation
- socio-economic modelling
- information society
- sustainable development
- environmental impact
- information technology
- communication technology
- material intensity
- rebound effect
- prospective technology assessment
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1364-8152