Lots of us these days spend time online but how many of us are aware that the carbon footprint of our online habits is similar to that of the global airline industry? They are responsible for around 1.6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually, a staggering 414kg of CO2 per internet user around the world, according to Mike Hazas, a researcher at Lancaster University. And these emissions are predicted to double by 2025.
Each online activity might seem small in the emissions it produces but multiplied by 4.1 billion people, or 53.6% of the global population who now use the internet, it adds up. Even less obvious are the emissions from data centres and the vast servers needed to support the internet and store the content.
IT companies in some countries have improved energy efficiency, economies of scale and use of renewable energy but many companies are still largely powered from the burning of fossil fuels.
As internet users, there’s a lot we can do to reduce internet emissions:
Upgrading our equipment less often will save emissions, as can changing the way we use our gadgets – adding a photo or hefty attachment increases the GHGs from 4g to 50g CO2e. Energy company OVO calculated we could save 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year (the equivalent to taking 3,334 diesel cars off the road) by sending one less ‘thank you’ email.
Swapping email attachments for links to documents stored on a common platform and not sending messages to multiple recipients will reduce our digital carbon footprints, as well as unsubscribing from mailing lists we no longer read.
Sending a WhatsApp or Facebook message is estimated by Freitag to be only slightly less carbon intensive than sending an email. Gifs, emojis and images have a bigger footprint than plain text.
A one-minute mobile phone call emits slightly more than sending a text. Making video calls over the internet is much higher, but where it replaces travel to reach meetings, it can be far better for the environment.
Watching online videos accounts for 60% of the world’s internet traffic and generates 1% of global emission. Watching video over a phone mobile network is twice as energy intensive than over wi-fi, so save energy by waiting until you get home.
Streaming music is better than buying a CD, if you only listen a few times. But emissions from downloading video games are higher than producing and distributing Blu-Ray disks from shops and emissions may worsen as more people opt for games where the computational work is done remotely rather than on individual consoles.
Social media is arguably the least carbon intensive form of digital entertainment. According to Facebook’s sustainability report, a user’s annual carbon footprint is 299g CO2e.
Save carbon by disabling unused features on social media and other apps. Switch off unnecessary cloud backups and automatic downloads for updates.
The UN’s International Telecom’s Union has set a target of reducing the industry’s emissions by 45% over 10 years. This change is needed within the IT industry otherwise it is predicted it could reach 14% of global emissions by 2040.
For more information about Sherwood Forest Friends of the Earth, find them on Facebook: Sherwood Forest FoE, or email sffofe@btinternet.com.
Pauline Meechan
Sherwood Forest Friends of the Earth