Technology and sustainability are becoming increasingly intertwined in both policy and practice, but negotiating the relationship between the two is complex.
While the potential for emerging technologies to help tackle the climate crisis and achieve green targets is increasingly recognised, so are the possible negative environmental effects of digital transformation.
At the EU level, sustainability and tech come together under the “twin transition” label, with goals for both the digital and green transformations. Attention is increasingly turning towards how to ensure that developments in each not only help, but avoid hindering each other.
As a result, those working in tech are emphasising the importance of integrating sustainability into all stages of development, so that the full potential of digital innovation, in furthering climate and other goals, can be realised.
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Digital transition could be risk or opportunity for climate says UN official
Sustainability should be integrated into the digital transition to avoid inadvertently accelerating the climate crisis, according to a UN official.