Chiara Scotti: Digital and green - twice the transformation, twice the win? 

Closing remarks by Ms Chiara Scotti, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, at the Conference "The macroeconomic and financial dimensions of the green transition", European University Institute, Fiesole, 28 June 2024.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

The conference on 'The macroeconomic and financial dimensions of the green transition' is now coming to a close. Let me warmly thank all the participants who have contributed to the success of this initiative, co-organized by Banca d'Italia, the European University Institute, the Euro Area Business Cycle Network and the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

The value of this event lies not only in the attempt to shed light on key economic and financial issues linked to the energy transition and the ongoing decarbonization process, but also in gathering together academics and researchers from central banks, other policy institutions and universities in an attempt to foster critical thinking and new collaborations. Needless to say, the analyses of such an outstanding pool of experts are essential in supporting decision-makers in the public and private sectors who have to cope with the multiple challenges of the transition.

Yet while the programme has focused on many of the climate-related challenges, in my brief concluding remarks today, I would like to highlight another challenge that I think warrants further investigation: the twin transition, which lies at the intersection of the green and the digital transformations.

The digital and green twin transitions We are living in a world where the digital transition and the green transition are mostly taking place on parallel tracks, although some commentators have underlined some possible interactions. When people think about these transitions, they tend to highlight the negative impact of the digital transition on the climate, and specifically that the expansion in power-hungry digital technologies and services will increase their environmental footprint.