Image credit: adapted from Royal Schiphol Group and PA Consulting; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/twin-transition-playbook-3-phases-to-accelerate-sustainable-digitization/
Collateral Transitions. Reassembling Societies, Data Centres and the Twin Transition
In this research we follow the ‘twin transition’-discourse by EU policy making. Embracing a comparative perspective we investigate how this discourse is taken up in Austria and Ireland.
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The concept of the “twin transition” has emerged as the latest buzzword in European Commission (EC) policy documents, spanning from industrial strategy to pandemic recovery plans and zero-pollution initiatives. Rooted in the vision spelled out in the European ‘Green Deal’, it presents a narrative that promises multiple benefits: not only do the green and digital transitions complement and reinforce each other, but they are also anticipated to enhance the EU’s competitiveness, generate new sustainable jobs, and sustain economic growth.
Drawing on policy documents from the EC and member states, interviews with policymakers, industry experts, and civil society representatives, as well as ethnographic research conducted at a data center conference, our analysis delves into the discourse surrounding the twin transition.
On one hand, we explore situated imaginaries of the twin transition. In Austria, this perspective reveals its integration within a broader state transformation where the state assumes centralized control over data. On the other hand, we focus on the implementation of these visions. In Ireland, this sheds light on how the twin transition serves as justification for the burgeoning data center industry, which is beginning to face resistance from the public.
On the Environmental Fragilities of Digital Solutionism. Articulating the “Twin Transition” in European Policy Documents
In this research we engage with the question of how the ‘digital’ and ‘green’ transitions are articulated in EU policy documents. Doing this analysis of what happens beneath the seemingly surface of gloomy visions, will allow us to see the frictions and latent conflicts of different ways of twinning.
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The concept of the “twin transition” has emerged as the latest buzzword in European Commission (EC) policy documents, spanning from industrial strategy to pandemic recovery plans and zero-pollution initiatives. Rooted in the vision spelled out in the European ‘Green Deal’, it presents a narrative that promises multiple benefits: not only do the green and digital transitions complement and reinforce each other, but they are also anticipated to enhance the EU’s competitiveness, generate new sustainable jobs, and sustain economic growth.
Drawing on policy documents from the EC and member states, interviews with policymakers, industry experts, and civil society representatives, as well as ethnographic research conducted at a data center conference, our analysis delves into the discourse surrounding the twin transition.
On one hand, we explore situated imaginaries of the twin transition. In Austria, this perspective reveals its integration within a broader state transformation where the state assumes centralized control over data. On the other hand, we focus on the implementation of these visions. In Ireland, this sheds light on how the twin transition serves as justification for the burgeoning data center industry, which is beginning to face resistance from the public.
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union´s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement 10105480).
Contact
Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Vienna
Universitätsstraße 7/Stairs II/6th floor
1010 Vienna, Austria
Kolingasse 12-14/ 7th floor
1090 Vienna, Austria
E-Mail: ulrike.felt@univie.ac.at
Phone: +43 4277 49611