Information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer some potential to help address the world’s most pressing climate concerns and enable the much-needed shift toward a circular economy (CE). ICTs can be tools for monitoring climate change and for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Because the main output of the ICT sector is information rather than physical goods – a concept sometimes referred to as ‘dematerialization” – ICTs can contribute to reducing the emissions and solid waste that emanate from other (non-ICT) sectors of the economy. The higher levels of connectivity that ICTs foster are also leading to societal impacts and an exchange of ideas previously not experienced on this scale and to this extent. Through greater awareness and education, this can have a positive effect on fostering an environmental responsibility mind-set amongst stakeholders, including the ICT sector, policy makers, citizens and academia. This is extremely important as everyone needs to come together to take responsibility for this very complex problem, and to take concerted and timely action
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