Is the Digital Future Sustainable?

Seppälä TimoMattila JuriRajala Risto

Abstract

It is predicted that in 2030, the energy consumption of the ICT sector will be 21% of the world’s energy consumption, but will resources be enough to carry out all the digital technology development trends at the same time? Trends, such as the transition to the ecommerce, the transition of mobile services to the fifth-generation network, video streaming, online gaming and the rise of electric cars, all increase the need for both storage and computing capacity and energy as well. More broadly, the geographical location of digital resources and infrastructures has implications to country’s security of supply, for example in systems of systems development of smart traffic. The ecological effects of digitalization should also be explored through the lens of digital ecology and sustainability.

Information om publikationen

Serie
ETLA Muistio - ETLA Brief 80
Datum
12.06.2019
Nyckelord
ICT, Energy efficiency, Computing capacity, Emissions trading, Security of supply
ISSN
2323-2463
JEL
O3, O33, Q4, Q5
Sidor
5
Språk
Engelska