The Economics of Green IT

Information technologies show a great potential for reducing the environmental burden of economic activity in their own production and use, as well as in their role as enabling technologies. Their smart use could save up to 15% of today’s greenhouse gas emissions. While "Green IT" is widely discussed in the IT business, economic research so far lacks a systematic approach to the issue.

The objective of the workshop is to bring together researchers from economics and related disciplines to discuss the economics of "Green IT". Contributions from a general perspective on technical change or on the “green” potential of specific information technologies are welcome. The scope of the workshop encompasses quantitative theoretical and empirical research, case studies and policy recommendations.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to)

• Technical change and the environment
• Sectoral and macroeconomic effects of IT on energy demand
• Productivity gains and cost savings through Green IT
• Green IT innovations
• Energy and resource use of IT products over their life cycle
• Smart grids and transport systems
• IT-enabled transparency of energy markets
• Green IT policy

Keynote Speaker

Philippe Aghion (Harvard University, USA)

Programme

Programme, (PDF file, 52 KB)