Carbon Footprinting the Internet

2000

The growth of e-commerce will provide a number of opportunities and challenges for all institutions, public and private. The Internet Economy and Global Warming looks at the way e-commerce may fundamentally shift the traditional relationship between energy use and economic growth, and how this historic shift may benefit our economy and environment.

PAAKAT: Revista de Tecnología y Sociedad, 2022

The notion of Digital Carbon Footprint refers to the amount of Carbon Dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of an individual’s activity, organization or community derived from the use of Information and Communication Technologies. The main objective of this research is to contribute elements to the debate on the high environmental impact of the global digital activity, emphasizing the current context characterized by an increasingly intensive use of interconnected electronic devices as well as digital resources that cloud storage requires. We conclude that the increase in the Digital Carbon Footprint has a high socio-environmental impact, a fact that takes us away from the carbon neutrality indicated by the 2030 Agenda and will only be mitigated as long as it intertwined with new energy management model (renewable energy) that optimize both the infrastructure (date centers) such as the very use of the Internet, as well as the cloud information storage.

Environment-behaviour proceedings journal, 2023

The study adopted threshold regression techniques to estimate the cross-section data spanning 2017 to 2021. It hypothesized that internet users affect CO2 emission between countries and this would vary depending on the level of population. Countries that have smaller populations may not have the same effect on CO2 emissions as compared to countries with larger populations. The empirical results show that internet users exert a significant influence on CO2 emissions, especially under high threshold regimes. Thus, the larger the population, the higher and more significant will be the impact on CO2 by internet users.

Telematics and Informatics, 2017

The positive and negative environmental impacts of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely debated. In theory, ICT is among the sources contributing to the increasing levels of CO 2 emissions in terms of production of ICT machinery and devices, energy consumption, and recycling of electronic waste. However, ICT is also expected to reduce CO 2 emissions on a global scale by developing smarter cities, transportation systems, electrical grids, industrial processes, and energy saving gains. These two effects work in opposite direction, creating an inverted-U relationship between ICT and CO 2 emissions. The aim of this study is to investigate this non-linear relationship between ICT and CO 2 emissions on a global scale. Given that global warming is a global issue, it is necessary to look at this relationship in countries at all levels of development. To this end, we use a panel data set consisting of 142 economies, split into 116 developing and 26 developed countries, over the period 1995 to 2010. The results of our empirical study confirm that the relationship between ICT and CO 2 emissions is an inverted U-shaped relationship. Moreover, while for the sample of developing countries, the ICT turning point is well above the mean value, the opposite is true for the sample of developed countries. This implies that many developed countries have already attained the level of ICT development, at which CO2 emissions decreases as the level of ICT development improves further.

Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Computer Networking and Developing Sustainable Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change , 2024

The rapid expansion of computer networking has significantly impacted the environment, contributing to climate change through energy consumption, electronic waste, and carbon emissions. This report evaluates the environmental impact of computer networking and proposes sustainable strategies to mitigate these effects. The environmental impact of computer networking primarily stems from energy consumption. Data centres, network infrastructure, and end-user devices consume vast amounts of electricity, leading to significant carbon emissions. Additionally, the production and disposal of networking equipment contribute to electronic waste, further exacerbating environmental issues. To mitigate these impacts, organizations can adopt sustainable strategies. Implementing energy-efficient technologies, such as virtualization and cloud computing, can reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Furthermore, promoting the circular economy by refurbishing and recycling networking equipment can minimize electronic waste. Education and awareness programs can also play a crucial role in promoting sustainable practices among consumers and businesses. Encouraging the use of energy-efficient networking devices and promoting responsible disposal of electronic equipment can help reduce the environmental impact of computer networking. In conclusion, addressing the environmental impact of computer networking requires a multi-faceted approach involving technological advancements, policy changes, and behavioural shifts. By implementing sustainable strategies, organizations can minimize their carbon footprint and contribute to a more environmentally sustainable future.

Computing and communications have altered the way in which the world works and lives today. Captured within a single acronym, 'ICT' has majorly shaped the growth and sustenance of every other industry in this planet. But growth invariably comes with a price. The high energy consumption of the ICT industry and its attendant environmental fallouts threatens to undo the positives that the industry is otherwise associated with. This paper does a 360 degree Carbon Audit of the ICT Industry. The tool used for the audit is the Bow-Tie Diagram, a risk evaluation tool. The paper does a threat-consequence mapping of the increasing carbon footprint of the ICT industry. Five threats and three consequences are identified. Then using literature survey, the paper delineates twenty five barriers that can help in containing the carbon footprint of the ICT industry. Seventeen of the 25 identified barriers are on the threat side and the remaining eight are on the consequences side of the Bow-Tie.

Environmental Informatics and Systems Research, …, 2007

The challenge of climate change calls for a systematic effort to utilize ICT for CO2 reduction. This paper shows that the effects of ICT applications on CO2 emissions are manifold and demonstrates a systematic approach to deal with this variety. The approach combines a standard life-cycle approach with a classification of ICT effects in first-to thirdorder effects. It is applied to the fields of ICT application that are discussed in literature as candidate fields for ICTrelated CO2 reduction. High reduction potentials are identified in the following fields: data centers, mobile phone networks, electronic waste recycling, intelligent space heating, virtual meetings, and the organization of services where consumption is traditionally linked with product ownership. Finally, current barriers preventing the exploitation of these potentials are discussed.

Green information technology systems (Green ITS) are proposed as a strategy to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions and other environmental impacts while supporting ecological sustainable development. The Green ITS concept combines both Green information technology (IT) and Green information system (IS) applications. The Green ITS concept has the potential to combat the carbon emission problem globally, beyond simply Green IT, because it combines management, organizational, and technology dimensions of climate change mitigation and adaptation, especially if supported by global policy. Examples include life cycle assessment software for measuring GHG emissions, and software for monitoring GHG emissions. Previous studies on environmental burdens such as GHGs, water and air pollution, energy losses and other forms of waste alongside socioeconomic dependent variables including renewable resources and climate change policies are reviewed and synthesized. The research analysis conjointly points to the usage of renewable resources such as solar and wind as a critical strategy to scale back GHG emissions and enhance green growth. Empirical evidence shows that developed countries can reduce their carbon emissions while developing countries can utilize carbon emission-free technologies as they aspire to achieve development. The two significant benefits of the Green ITS strategy are first, to provide the environmental benefits of reducing greenhouse emissions and other environmental impacts and second, to enhance global green growth, which supports achievement of ecological sustainable development. Green ITS tools support achievement of the UN SDG 7, 13 and 15, which emphasize clean energy, climate action and ecological sustainable development, respectively. Future research directions include the formulation of a strategy to combat GHGs and design of a system to monitor carbon emissions and other waste remotely.

Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2010

During the past decade, several macroeconomic studies on the potentials of information and communication technology (ICT) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been published. The mitigation potentials identified in them vary to a high degree, mainly because they are not consistently defined and diverse methodologies are applied. The characteristics of ICT—exceptional dynamics of innovation and diffusion, social embedment and cross-sector application, diverse and complex impact patterns—are a challenge for macroeconomic studies that quantify ICT impacts on GHG emissions. This article first reviews principal macroeconomic studies on ICT and GHG emissions. In the second part, we reconsider our own study on this topic and present an in-depth scenario analysis of the future impacts of ICT applications on GHG emissions. We conclude that forthcoming macroeconomic studies could strengthen the state of the art in environmental ICT impact modeling (1) by accounting for the dynamics of new ICT applications and their first-, second-, and third-order effects on a global scale, (2) by reflecting the error margins resulting from data uncertainty in the final results, and (3) by using scenario techniques to explore future uncertainty and its impacts on the results.

Concern for the environmental pollution is now universally accepted as an issue that is not only for environmentalists. As the impact of global warming continues to show its destructive nature, different professions are now embracing minimising carbon emission in their practice. Computing profession is embracing green computing. Automation of processes and increase in use of internet based operations can enable work to be done remotely minimising the need for human movement through vehicles. Telecommuting, telemedicine etc are some of the approach that enables professional expertise to be accessed from wherever the expert is. Computing applications offer the means through which the world can respond to minimise the emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Information and communication technologies application can contribute in reducing carbon emissions of almost all the major sources of carbon emission. Policy makers need to make concerted efforts to embrace carbon emission policies.