Are the energy transition and the digital transition allies of ennemies? The former seems obvious. Isn’t dematerialization reducing the raw material and energy use? Can’t we, thanks to "smart" tools, better regulate our heating or electricity consumption? Didn’t the cloud make paper disappear?
This would mean forgetting the massive and energy-intensive infrastructure on which new technologies rely: networks, data centres, use of rare metals, rapid obsolescence, etc., not to mention all those consumer "needs" created by the digital transformation: connected sneakers or fridges, self-service scooters, etc.
So, in the face of the climate emergency, what can we do? Go back? By detailing the advantages and pitfalls of many paths (smart cities, connected cars, digital fields, 4.0 industries...), Eric Vidalenc invites us to question the use of new technologies in our societies for a more just, sober, autonomous and better world.

Essay
ISBN 978-2-36383-261-0
Publication date: October, 10th 2019
128 p., 14 euros
The "transition policies" collection is directed by Philippe Frémeaux et Aurore Lalucq.