Abstract
The use of digital products and services has continued to increase, especially in recent years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in both work and private life. For example, people are using video conferencing systems and cloud services more than ever to work from home, ordering more and more products online, and accessing an inexhaustible selection of videos and music titles through streaming platforms. As the use of digital products and services leads to profound changes in working and private life, the question arises to what extent these contribute to a reduction or increase in the emission rate of greenhouse gases and are thus rather an opportunity or a hurdle for the achievement of climate protection goals. Research to date shows that a differentiated approach is necessary here and that blanket estimates of the climate impact of digitalization are not helpful.
Bieser, Jan C T