The Impacts of Digitalised Daily Life on Climate Change

Digitalisation is reshaping production and consumption practices across society. There is uncertainty around its net energy demand and related greenhouse gas emissions, owing to its complex and varied indirect impacts. This paper focuses on three indirect impacts of digitalisation: 1) efficiency; 2) rebound; and 3) substitution in the context of energy consumption associated with the use of digital innovations in daily life activities. Systemic conditions such as equitable access, trust, and control and agency interact with these domains of activity and determine the ultimate climate impacts of digitalisation in daily life. While digitalisation has the potential to be a game-changing tool in reducing energy consumption, in practice, this will require concerted efforts and policies to steer it in a desirable direction.

This paper outlines a research agenda that supports SHAPE research on the environmental implications of digital engagement, interdisciplinary research bridging SHAPE and STEM, further research on the indirect and systemic energy impacts of digitalisation, and the importance of factoring in digitalisation as a cross-cutting process within different activity domains. The paper concludes with policy recommendations focused on enhancing the positive climate impacts of digitalisation in daily life.