Carbon emissions are found to be at an all-time high, as the world’s YouTube usage is found to be worse for your carbon footprint than leaving a light on for one year
• A minute of the world’s YouTube streams releases as much carbon dioxide as leaving a 100-watt light bulb on for an entire year
• Non-renewable energy sources that power the data centres storing our information release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
• There is a lack of understanding of how bad the impact of the world’s online activity is on the digital carbon footprint
As the UK announces plans to Cut Carbon Emissions to Zero by 2050, the current climate of emissions is rising to an all-time high.
And with an average of 4,200,000 streams on YouTube made across the world in a single minute, it can be hard to recognise how online activity can have a dangerous impact on the environment.
International manufacturer of heating systems, Viessmann, has found just how bad this online activity really is with a minute of the world’s YouTube streams releasing as much carbon dioxide as leaving a 100-watt light bulb on for an entire year.
In fact, the transmission of data via the internet contributes to 4% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that while one single person’s usage might have only a small impact, the collective amount of emissions can mean a lot larger problems for the planet.
Most of the confusion caused by digital carbon emissions is because of the many terms used and lack of understanding amongst the public about how something we can’t see can be harmful to the environment.
“Companies have coined terms like ‘the cloud’ to make everyday technology seem like it is simply a weightless formation storing our data.
David Lane at Viessmann tries to explain how the confusion is caused and what it actually means to the planet when you ‘tweet’ or ‘stream’ a tweet or video.
“Companies have coined terms like ‘the cloud’ to make everyday technology seem like it is simply a weightless formation storing our data.
In reality, this transmission of data requires millions of physical server data centres around the world to run and store this information. And when the energy used to power these data centres comes from sources like power plants, it means carbon dioxide will still be emitted into the air in the same way as it would when turning on a light.”
Test your understanding and find out if you really are aware of how much your digital carbon footprint can impact the environment, by taking this quiz.
Top tips to reduce your digital carbon footprint:
1. Always use Wi-Fi over 3G or 4G – this is the more environmentally friendly option, with 4G requiring almost 8 times more energy than Wi-Fi
2. Use lower resolution options when streaming over Netflix and YouTube – these options are usually at the bottom of the screen in the settings
3. Unsubscribe from any spam/junk emails even if you don’t open them – Unopened spam emails still use 0.3g of carbon dioxide
