ICT Sufficiency is Necessary: Results from Simulating Four Possible Futures

To ensure that information and communication technologies (ICT) have a positive environmental impact, it is imperative to address their negative consequences. While efforts to enhance efficiency and ensure consistency in I CT production, use and disposal are essential, this study suggests that sufficiency measures are indispensable. This research provides evidence for this claim by developing a simulation model applied to studying the environmental impact of the interaction of a population, a government and a major technology producer, within four environmental policy scenarios. The results demonstrate that sufficiency measures are not only highly effective in mitigating emissions and e-waste but also represent a necessary condition for achieving our climate goals in the shortest time frame possible. The model provided in this research can serve as the basis of future policy studies and could have the potential to become a decision-support mechanism for policymakers.