Study on Greening Cloud Computing and Electronic Communications Services and Networks

The digital transformation currently taking place is characterised by an increase in the amount of data that needs to be collected, processed, stored and transmitted. This results in an expansion of the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and leads to an increase in energy and resource consumption in this area. In view of the EU Green Deal and the associated political strategies at EU level and in the member states, data centres and telecommunications networks must become more energy-efficient and climate-friendly. The digital transformation thus requires an ecological transformation at the same time. This study examines the two areas of ICT infrastructure, data centres and telecommunications networks, and develops policy recommendations on how their expansion can be steered in an environmentally sustainable direction.