Digital technologies have disruptive implications for decarbonization narratives and pathways: they affect energy efficiency and energy demand, impact the competitivess of firms, change the demand for skills and labour, and have distributive consequences on individuals and communities. However, to date the design of policies supporting decarbonization and digitalization has largely taken place on parallels tracks. Unveiling the link between digitalization and decarbonization is crucially important for industry, transportation and buildings because these sectors face the biggest mitigation challenges. Understanding the energy and socio-economic implications of decarbonization is necessary to identify and implement robust, “no-regret” decarbonization policies and portfolios and to ensure that the transition towards climate neutrality is just and leaves no-one behind.
The aim of the “Disruptive Digitalization for Decarbonization” (2D4D) project is ensure that the digital revolution acts as an enabler – and not a barrier – for decarbonization. To this end, the project pursues three main objectives:
1) Characterize the technical and socio-economic dynamics of three key digital technologies: additive manufacturing (AM) in industry, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in transportation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in buildings.
2) Produce “AI-cognizant” decarbonization narratives and pathways.
3) Identify no-regret, robust policy portfolios to ensure decarbonisation through digitalization as well as the achievement of other important co-benefits.
