Eric Vidalenc
Head of the Energy Transition division at ADEME
Eric Vidalenc is the author of specialized articles and general public on energy questions: he collaborates in particular with Alternatives Economiques. He published, with Jacques Theys, the book “Rethinking cities in post-carbon society” in 2013. In 2019, he published "Pour une écologie numérique" with Les Petits Matins editions and in co-edition with the Veblen Institute.
He acts as an expert for the National Research Agency , the European Commission or the European Economic and Social Committee and on economic and energetic questions in different high schools (Paris Sorbonne, Master HEC, ...). In 2019, he chaired "La Fabrique Ecologique" working group: "Does climate emergency imply authoritarianism?".
Since 2015, he has been scientific advisor to the Futuribles think tank.
Head of the Energy Transition division within the Hauts de France Regional Directorate of the Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) for four years, he now oversees the development of energy resource scenarios.
He acts as an expert for the National Research Agency , the European Commission or the European Economic and Social Committee and on economic and energetic questions in different high schools (Paris Sorbonne, Master HEC, ...). In 2019, he chaired "La Fabrique Ecologique" working group: "Does climate emergency imply authoritarianism?".
Since 2015, he has been scientific advisor to the Futuribles think tank.
Head of the Energy Transition division within the Hauts de France Regional Directorate of the Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) for four years, he now oversees the development of energy resource scenarios.
Talk
Allies or enemies, the energy transition and the digital transition? The first option seems obvious. Isn't de-materialization economical in terms of transport kilometers and raw materials? Can we not, thanks to "intelligent" tools, better regulate our heating system or electricity consumption? Isn't paper fading behind data stored in a cloud? This would be forgetting the energy-intensive dimension of the material infrastructures necessary for this digital envelopment of our lives: networks, storage centers, use of rare metals, rapid obsolescence, etc. or connected fridges, washing machines, etc. So, faced with the climate emergency, what to do? Go back? By exploiting the strengths and avoiding pitfalls (smart cities, connected cars, digital fields, 4.0 industries, etc.), Éric Vidalenc invites us instead to “put digital in its place”: one that can bring us real well-being, more autonomy in a fairer and more sober world and serving the ecological transition.