28.08.2017New Study on Digitalization and Climate Protection Published

The ISR group published a new study on “Opportunities and Risks of Digitalization for Climate Protection in Switzerland” in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Swisscom, authored by Lorenz Hilty and Jan Bieser.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an important enabler for a low-carbon economy in Switzerland. ICT has the potential to avoid up to 2.60 times more greenhouse gas emissions than the amount of emissions caused by the production, operation and disposal of ICT devices and infrastructures used in Switzerland in 2025. In absolute terms, ICT will enable the Swiss economy to save up to 6.99 Mt CO2-equivalents per year, with an own carbon footprint of 2.69 Mt CO2-equivalents per year. This opportunity for the ICT sector to contribute to climate protection, however, can only be realized if the existing technological and economic potentials are systematically exploited by taking ambitious and targeted actions. Such actions can be especially effective in the transportation, building and energy sectors, which have the highest potential for ICT-enabled (“smart”) solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Full report (PDF, 1 MB)
Summary (PDF, 923 KB)
Zusammenfassung (PDF, 895 KB)
Note de synthèse (PDF, 910 KB)