Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-17 (section)

==== 17.3.3.6 Cross-sectoral Digitalisation ====

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In this section, the potential role of digitalisation as a facilitator of a fast transition to sustainable development and low-emission pathways is assessed based on sectoral examples. The contributions of digital technology could contribute to efficiency improvements, cross-sectoral coordination, including new IT services, and decreasing resource use, implying several synergies with the SDGs, as well as trade-offs, for example, in relation to reduced employment, increasing energy demand and the increasing demand for services, possibly increasing GHG emissions.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused radical temporary breaks with past energy-use trends. How post-pandemic recovery will impact on the longer-term energy transition is unclear. Recovering from the pandemic with energy-efficient practices embedded in new patterns of travel, work, consumption and production reduces climate mitigation challenges ( [[#Kikstra--2021|Kikstra et al. 2021]] ). The potential of digital contact tracing to slow the spread of a virus had been quietly explored for over a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic thrust the technology into the spotlight ( [[#Cebrian--2021|Cebrian 2021]] ). The COVID-19 crisis is among the most disruptive events in recent decades and has had consequences for consumer behaviour. During the lockdowns in most countries, consumers have turned to online shopping for food products, personal hygiene and disinfection ( [[#Cruz-Cárdenas--2021|Cruz-Cárdenas et al. 2021]] ), making society more digitally literate.

The cost of new services provided by digitalisation can be high, and this could imply barriers for low-income countries in joining new global information-sharing systems and markets. Altogether this implies that any assessment of the contribution of digitalisation to support the SDGs and low-carbon pathways will only be able to provide very context-specific results. Digital technologies could potentially disrupt production processes in nearly every sector of the economy. However, as an emerging area experiencing the rapid penetration of many sectors, there could be a window of opportunity for integrating sustainable development and low-emission pathways. ( [[#IIASA--2020|IIASA 2020]] ) concludes that the digital revolution is characterised by many innovative technologies, which can create both synergies and trade-offs with the SDGs ( [[#IIASA--2020|IIASA 2020]] ).

Digital technologies could potentially disrupt production processes in nearly every sector of the economy. However, as an emerging area experiencing the rapid penetration of many sectors, there could be a window of opportunity for integrating sustainable development and low-emission pathways. TWI2050 (2020) concludes that the digital revolution is characterised by many innovative technologies, which can create both synergies and trade-offs with the SDGs ( [[#IIASA--2020|IIASA 2020]] ).

WBSD (2019) has assessed the potential of communication technologies (ICT) to contribute to the transition to a global low-carbon economy in the energy, transportation, building, industry, and other sectors. The potential is estimated to be around 15% CO 2 -eq emissions reductions in 2020 compared with a business-as-usual scenario. A range of ICT solutions have been highlighted, including smart motors and industrial process-management in industry, traffic-flow management, efficient engines for transport, smart logistics and smart-energy systems.

The TWI2050 2019 report ( [[#IIASA--2019|IIASA 2019]] ) assessed both the positive and negative impacts of digitalisation in the context of sustainable development. It found that efficiency improvements, reduced resource consumption and new services can support the SDGs, but also that there were challenges, including in relation to equality, facing the least-developed and developing countries because of their low level of access to technologies. The necessary preconditions for successful digital transformation include prosperity, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, protection of jobs and good governance of sustainability transitions. One negative impact of digitalisation could be the rebound effects, where easier access to services could increase demand and with it GHG emissions. Digitalisation in the manufacturing sector could also provide a comparative advantage to developed countries due to the falling importance of labour costs, while the barriers to emerging economies seeking to enter global markets could accordingly be increased.

In respect of governance, ( [[#Krishnan--2020|Krishnan et al. 2020]] ) point out that the creation of synergies between sustainable development and low-emission urbanisation based on digitalisation could face barriers in the form of inadequate knowledge of structures and value creation through ecosystems that would need to be addressed by means of smart digitalising, requiring organisational measures to support transformation processes.

Urban areas are one of the main arenas for new digital solutions due to rapid urbanisation rates and high concentrations of settlements, businesses and supply systems, which offer great potential for large-scale digital systems. The emergence of smart cities has supported the uptake of smart integrated energy, transportation, water and waste-management systems, while synergies have been created in terms of more flexible and efficient systems. In its 2018 Policy and Action document, the Japanese Business Federation (Keidanren) launched Society 5.0, which includes plans for smart-city development ( [[#Carraz--2019|Carraz and Yuko 2019]] ; [[#Narvaez%20Rojas--2021|Narvaez Rojas et al. 2021]] ). To achieve smart cities, Society 5.0 aimed to facilitate diverse lifestyles and business success, while the quality of life offered by these options will be enhanced. It also aims to offer high-standard medical and educational services. Autonomous vehicles will be available and integrated with smart-grid systems in order to facilitate mobility and flexibility in energy supply with a high share of renewable energy.

[[IPCC:Wg3:Chapter:Chapter-6|Chapter 6]] of this report on ‘Energy Systems’ points out that there are many smart-energy options with the potential to support sustainable development by facilitating the integration of high shares of fluctuating renewable energy in electricity systems, potentially storing energy in electric vehicle (EV) batteries or fuel cells, and applying load shifting by varying prices over time. It is concluded that very large efficiency gains are expected to emerge from digitalisation in the energy sector (Figure 6.18).

[[IPCC:Wg3:Chapter:Chapter-9#9.9.2|Section 9.9.2]] in [[IPCC:Wg3:Chapter:Chapter-9|Chapter 9]] concludes that the improved energy efficiency and falling costs in the building sector that could result from digitalisation could have rebound effects in increasing both energy consumption and comfort levels. Increasing GHG emissions could be the result, but if low-income consumers are given faster access to affordable energy, this could agree with the SDGs, making it desirable to integrate policies targeting mitigation.

[[IPCC:Wg3:Chapter:Chapter-10#10.1.2|Section 10.1.2]] in [[IPCC:Wg3:Chapter:Chapter-10|Chapter 10]] discusses how the sharing economy, which, for example, could be facilitated by ICT platforms, could influence both mitigation and the SDGs. On the one hand, sharing has the potential to save transport emissions, especially if EVs are supplied with decarbonised grid electricity. However, an increase in transport emissions could result from this if increasing demand and higher comfort levels are facilitated, for example, by making access to EVs relatively easy compared with mass transit. Another possible trade-off is that the supply of public transport services would be limited to the elderly and other user groups.

Green innovation in agriculture is another emerging area in which digitalisation is making huge progress. From the perspective of water provision, weather data can be used to predict rain amounts so that farmers can better manage the application of farm chemicals to minimise polluting aquifers and surface-water systems used for drinking water. Meanwhile, smart meters, on-site and remote sensors and satellite data connected to mobile devices allow real-time monitoring of crop-water and optimal irrigation requirements. On the supply side, remote tele-control systems and efficient irrigation technologies enable farmers to control and optimise the quantity and timing of water applications, while minimising the energy-consumption trade-offs of pressurised irrigation in both rural and urban agricultural contexts ( [[#Germer--2011|Germer et al. 2011]] ; [[#Ruiz-Garcia--2009|Ruiz-Garcia et al. 2009]] ).

Technology-driven precision agriculture, which combines geomorphology, satellite imagery, global positioning and smart sensors, enables enormous increases in efficiency and productivity. Taken together, these technologies provide farmers with a decision-support system in real time for the whole farm. Arguably, the world could feed the projected rise in population without radical changes to current agricultural practices if food waste can be minimised or eliminated. Digital technologies will contribute to minimising these losses through increased efficiencies in supply chains, better shipping and transit systems, and improved refrigeration.

In conclusion, in most cases digitalisation options may have both positive synergistic impacts on mitigation and the SDGs and some negative trade-offs. Energy-sector options are assessed primarily as having synergies, while some digitalisation options in transport could increase the demand for emission-intensive modes of transport. Digital platforms for the sharing economy could have both positive and negative impacts depending on the goods and services that are actually exchanged (Cross-Chapter Box 6 in Chapter 7). Options related to agriculture and the water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) could help manage resources more efficiently across sectors, which could create synergies. Digitalisation can also raise a number of ethical challenges according to ( [[#Clark--2019|Clark et al. 2019]] ). Wider public discussion of internet-based activities was accordingly recommended, including topics such as the negotiation of online consent and the use of data for which consent has not been obtained.

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