RESUMO
Innovations and efficiencies in digital technology have lately been depicted as paramount in the green transition to enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, both in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the wider economy. This, however, fails to adequately account for rebound effects that can offset emission savings and, in the worst case, increase emissions. In this perspective, we draw on a transdisciplinary workshop with 19 experts from carbon accounting, digital sustainability research, ethics, sociology, public policy, and sustainable business to expose the challenges of addressing rebound effects in digital innovation processes and associated policy. We utilize a responsible innovation approach to uncover potential ways forward for incorporating rebound effects in these domains, concluding that addressing ICT-related rebound effects ultimately requires a shift from an ICT efficiency-centered perspective to a "systems thinking" model, which aims to understand efficiency as one solution among others that requires constraints on emissions for ICT environmental savings to be realized.
RESUMO
This paper explores the trends, step changes and innovations that could impact the integration of renewable energy into electricity systems, explores interventions that may be required, and identifies key areas for policy makers to consider. A Delphi approach is used to collect, synthesise, and seek consensus across expert viewpoints. Over sixty experts across a range of geographies including the US, Europe, New-Zealand, Australia, Africa, India and China participated. They identified 26 trends, 20 step changes, and 26 innovations that could lead to major shifts in the design, operation, or management of electricity systems. Findings suggest that key challenges are not technological. Instead they are with delivering an aligned vision, supported by institutional structures, to incentivise, facilitate, and de-risk the delivery of a completely different type of energy system. There is a clear role for government and policy to provide a future energy vision and steer on strategic issues to deliver it; to create space for new actors and business models aligned with this vision; and to create an environment where research, development, demonstration and deployment can promote technologies, system integration and business model innovation at a rate commensurate with delivering net-zero electricity systems.
RESUMO
Expansion of native corn starch produces a high surface area mesoporous material capable of acting as a novel stationary phase for separating various mixtures of compounds.
