Climate activists: often criticize air traffic as a CO2 slinger and call for restrictions or bans on flights. A British study has now examined the carbon footprint of computers and the Internet – and comes to an astonishing result.
It is well known that flying is more polluting than other modes of transport. A study from Great Britain has now found that something very common such as the Internet or computers have at least the same or even a larger CO2 footprint than all air traffic worldwide.
This is the result of several researchers who have not only determined how much CO2 is released by the operation of computers and the Internet, but also how high the carbon emissions are from the extraction of raw materials, production and scrapping of the devices.
CO2 emissions from IT are estimated to be up to four percent
It is estimated that 1.8 to 2.8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the operation of the Internet and computers. “(…) adjusted for the shortening of supply chain paths, we find that this proportion could actually be between 2.1 percent and 3.9 percent”,.
That would be more damaging to the climate than global air traffic – although the proportion of CO2 differs depending on the source. According to the data portal, the share of air traffic in global CO2 emissions was 3.01 percent in 2018.
According to the, CO2 emissions from aviation reached around 2.8 percent of global CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels in 2019. And according to the data portal, the CO2 share of aviation was 2.5 percent in 2018.
IT’s carbon footprint could increase
So, assuming the highest estimate (3.9 percent), computers and the Internet are more harmful to the climate, according to the British study. However, the CO2 values of air traffic are within the limits of the CO2 emissions from the Internet and computers (2.1 to 3.9 percent), which the researchers have determined.
The authors of the study fear, however, that the CO2 footprint from IT could become even greater. All analysts in the study agree that emissions caused by computers and the Internet could not be reduced without major political and industrial efforts. Not all of the industry’s commitments are ambitious enough and there is a lack of political mechanisms to enforce compliance with the climate targets.
Study: IT industry has to do more
The researchers also fear a kind of boomerang effect: more efficiency in the IT industry would make products cheaper, which would increase demand. Worldwide data traffic and the energy consumption of the devices would also increase. The IT industry must therefore limit its CO2 emissions more strongly. One way to do this is to use renewable energies or green electricity.
“Looking ahead, we are concerned that this emissions growth will continue at a time when emissions need to decrease. All of the analyzes reviewed in this report agree that ICT is not on the way to reducing emissions in line with to reduce the recommendations of climate science, unless the industry or the legislature take additional measures to ensure this, “says the study.
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