The Role of EU Digital Law in the Green Deal

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This MOOC was produced as part of the Edvance project – Digital Education Hub per la Cultura Digitale Avanzata. The project is funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU, Component 1, Investment 3.4 “Didattica e competenze universitarie avanzate".

About this course

The digital transition is guiding and influencing the concrete attainment of the EU environmental protection objectives enshrined in the landmark 2019 European Green Deal, notably the Commission’s agenda to transform the EU into a resilient, low-carbon and resource-efficient economy. This MOOC, produced by the University of Bologna, aims to shed light on the role played by digital technologies in reaching (or hampering) the objectives of the European Green Deal. It thus guides the students through a path which aims to delineate the characteristics of the so-called “twin transition” : the main features of the European Green Deal and its relevance for European citizens; the pillars of EU digital law and its synergies with the Union’s environmental agenda; the role of consumers in the twin transition and the safeguard of their rights; the environmental impact of digital infrastructures. The MOOC is articulated in four weeks, each of which is divided into an introductory video and three ad hoc modules dedicated to specific aspects of the week’s theme. For each week, explanatory videos, additional teaching material, and evaluation quizzes are provided. The Course is divided into four weeks, examining the main facets of the role played by EU digital law in reaching the objectives of the European Green Deal.

Week 1 - EU Digital Law and the Green Deal
Week 2 – Twin Transition
Week 3 – Digital Tools for Consumers Participation to achieve the Green Deal Objectives
Week 4 – AI, Data Centers and the EU Green Deal

For each week, specific lessons are provided, including explanatory videos, additional written teaching materials, and evaluation quizzes.

Target

Bachelor’s students, Master’s students, PhD students.

Outcomes

At the end of the course:

The student will be able to identify the main objectives of the European Green Deal and of the EU digital strategy.
The student will be able to describe the synergies between the two transitions. The student will be able to examine how EU digital tools contribute to the decarbonization of the economy. In particular, the student will gain a clearer understanding of how EU digital law facilitates the twin transition, contributing to the broader objectives of the EU Green Deal.
The student will be able to describe how EU digital law protects and empowers the European consumer in the context of the Twin Transition. Specifically, the student will gain a comprehensive knowledge of the relevant legal instruments, including the GDPR, DMA, DSA.
The student will be able to demonstrate how digital regulation and innovation can work together to minimise the environmental footprint of digital technologies - and how the EU is leading this effort through new legal frameworks.

Requirements

No specific prerequisite is required.

Activities

The course includes the following activities: watching video lessons, reading additional material, and completing evaluation quizzes at the end of each week, plus a final quiz to obtain the Certificate of Accomplishment.

Open Badge

Participants who complete the course will be awarded an Open Badge from BESTR. Participants who log in to the platform with University of Bologna, EDUGAIN, CIE or Spid authentication and answer correctly at least 60% of the questions in total, will receive an email with instructions to download their Open Badge from the BESTR website.

Subtitles

English subtitles available.

For better understanding, subtitles are available for each video and can be activated or not. If you want to revise some crucial passages you can move through the video content and click on the attached text.

EQF level

LEVEL 2

ISCED-F

0451 - Law

SDGS

4 - Quality Education
7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12 - Responsible Production and Consumption
13 - Climate Action

FAQ

For further information, see FAQ page.

Course Professors

Federico Casolari

Federico Casolari is Full professor of European Union Law at the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, where he teaches EU law and EU Constitutional Law. He currently serves as Chair of the Law Deans Group - The Guild (2024-2026), and is a member of the Joint Managerial Committee of the China-EU School of Law (CESL), a member of the National Biodiversity Future Centre and a member of the Interuniversity Centre on the Law of Economic International Organizations. He is also a member of the Centre for Digital Ethics (CedE) and of the International Research Centre on European Law (CIRDE) of the University of Bologna and tutor at the Collegio Superiore of the same university (2016-2025). He is the Director of the Master Programme in European Funds and Funding Projects Expert (MEFFE).
He is Head of the Department of Legal Studies of the University of Bologna (Dean, School of Law).

Federico Ferri

Federico Ferri is Senior Assistant Professor and has been qualified as Associate Professor in European Union Law since 2023. In 2015, he was awarded a joint PhD in European Law (UINIBO) and Public Law (University of Strasbourg) and worked a research fellow in EU Law from 2016 to 2022. He carries out teaching activities at the UNIBO Departments of Legal Studies (where he works on a permanent basis), Political Science, Cultural Heritage, as well as Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering. He is also an Adjunct Professor of the EU Internal Market at the University of Hamburg. He published a book on the balance of fundamental rights within the EU’s digital single market and numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on multiple topics relevant to EU law. He collaborates with some scientific journals.

Anna Pau

Postdoctoral research fellow at Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Department of Legal Studies since January 2024. Anna obtained her PhD from the University of Pisa, Law Department in 2023. She conducts her research in the disciplinary field of European Union law, with a particular focus on the Union’s external relations, especially the principle of consistency and respect for and promotion of international law. She has also published on topics such as EU disaster law, energy security, restrictive measures, solidarity, and EU diplomacy. During her doctoral studies, she was part of two Jean Monnet research projects (EUDIPLO and EUCTER) as a team member at the University of Pisa. Anna obtained her Master’s degree in 2019 from the University of Siena, with a thesis in public international law. Recently awarded the AISDUE prize for the best doctoral thesis in European Union law (2024).

Virginia Remondino

Teaching tutor at Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Department of Political and Social Sciences. Previously, Virginia has been postdoctoral research fellow in European Union law at the Department of Legal Studies of the University of Bologna, where she also obtained her PhD in European law in June 2025. Virginia’s research interests revolve around the external action of the European Union, with a specific focus on the Union’s common commercial policy, along with EU environmental and energy law and policy. During her doctoral studies, she was stagiaire at the Court of Justice of the European Union, cabinet of Judge L. S. Rossi.

Sofia Nicolai

Sofia Nicolai is a PhD candidate in law of the European Union at the University of Bologna, where she carries out research on EU energy law. Sofia is also an associate researcher in the energy research team at the Florence School of Regulation, European University Institute, where she explores the regulation of the electricity sector. She graduated in law from the University of Bologna and obtained a Master's degree in Sustainability and Energy Management from Bocconi University in Milan.