On 29 June, the European Commission adopted its annual Strategic Foresight Report on “twinning the green and digital transitions in the new geopolitical context”. Based on their analysis, this Communication identifies ten key areas where action will be needed to maximise synergies and consistency between the EU’s climate and digital ambitions:
Strengthening resilience and open strategic autonomy
Stepping up green and digital diplomacy
Strategically managing supply of critical materials and commodities
Strengthening economic and social cohesion
Adapting education and training systems
Mobilising additional future-proof investment into new technologies and infrastructures
Developing monitoring frameworks for measuring wellbeing beyond GDP
Ensuring a future-proof regulatory framework for the Single Market, conducive to sustainable business models and consumer patterns
Stepping up a global approach to standard-setting and sustainability
Promoting robust cybersecurity and secure data sharing framework
Within the wide range of actions mentioned, the following points are especially interesting:
Digital technologies can help the EU achieve climate neutrality, reduce pollution and restore biodiversity. However, their widespread use is increasing energy consumption, more electronic waste and bigger environmental footprint.
Energy, transport, industry, construction, and agriculture are key for a successful twinning of the green and digital transitions. Novel sensors, satellite data and blockchain, batteries and quantum computing are some of the future technologies to achieve such ambitions.
Developing domestic capacities and diversifying sources of supply along the value chain will be instrumental to significantly reduce the existing strategic dependencies and avert the risk of replacing them with new ones, especially in the area of critical raw materials, which requires a long-term and systemic approach.
The Commission will continue to advance its Strategic Foresight Agenda, while informing the Commission Work Programme initiatives for next year. It will co-organise the annual European Strategy and Political Analysis System(ESPAS) conference on 17 and 18 November 2022 to discuss the conclusions of the 2022 Strategic Foresight Report and prepare the ground for the 2023 edition.
To access the report, click here.