Digitalisation and natural resources
Digitalisation and natural resources Digitalisation is in creasingly affecting all aspects of our lives. However, its impact on the natural resource demand has not been sufficiently examined, yet. The UBA research project ‘Digitalisation and natural resources’ applies simulation models to analyse the resource intensity of the digital transformation in Germany with the aim of identifying ways for an environmentally sound development. 24.09.2024 275 More and more aspects of our private and professional everyday life are becoming digital. This change offers enormous potential for the economy, society, and the environment – new products and services are created through digitalisation, industrial processes become more efficient, and, ultimately, resources can be conserved. However, hardly any investigations have been carried out so far on how the advancing digitalisation itself affects the demand for energy and natural resources, for example copper, plastics, special metals or rare earth