The interdependency of energy, information, and growth

Abstract

This contribution is based on the talk I gave at the conference on ICT for Sustainability, February 14–16, ETH Zürich [1], in which I reopened the discussion on the impact of ICT on energy consumption [2]. The chapter has four sections. The introduction connects my topic to the conference theme. In part two, I discuss energy conservation; the mutual substitutability of energy, time and information; and some fundamental aspects of the nature of these three quantities. In the third part I present two empirical case studies of this mutual substitutability. Finally, in the fourth section, I conclude by speculating on what these results may mean in term of ICT’s effects on sustainability, mindful of the role of time and of economic growth in this interaction.