Digitalization as the key to sustainability in climate protection

Niklas Meyer Breitkreutz from Bitkom, Head of Sustainability and Environment, explains at the Greentech.LIVE conference in Berlin how digital technologies can help combat climate change. Bitkom sees digitalization not only as an instrument for economic development, but also as a decisive factor for climate protection.

Digitalization is a decisive factor for climate protection

According to Breitkreutz, digitalization has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in various sectors: “Especially in the energy sector, industry, transport and agriculture, digital solutions such as smart grids and efficient production processes can lead to a noticeable reduction in emissions,” says Meyer Breitkreutz.

Bitkom is also investigating how digital technologies can contribute to achieving Germany’s climate target of emitting 65% less CO2 by 2030.

A Bitkom study shows that digitalization could save up to 73 million tons of CO2 by 2030 if digitalization progresses faster.

The Ecological Footprint of Digital Technologies and Their Climate Benefits

The ecological footprint of digital technologies must also be taken into account, says the Bitkom manager: “Although the use and production of digital devices causes CO2 emissions, the potential benefits of the technologies in climate protection outweigh them.

All in all, digitization offers enormous opportunities to combat climate change,” he says: ‘Digitization can make a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions, but requires rapid implementation and cooperation between politics and industry,’ says the Bitkom expert.