The Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Information and Communications Technology Sector

While the powers that be are all over the use of petroleum products for transportation (except when it comes to their use of jets to fly about the globe), there is one use of energy that creates significant greenhouse gas emissions that gets almost no attention from the media or politicians.

  

In a publication entitled "The Worm in the Rose" by Gwythian Prins:

 

 

..the author examines the "green growth" fallacy, observing that a transition to green energy through a net zero approach is a "Veblen good", that is, a good that is consumed in increasing amounts as price increases, contradicting the law of supply and demand.  Veblen goods are often viewed as a status symbol and are consumed as part of a conspicuous consumption/virtue signalling lifestyle.

 

In reading through the document, I found one section in the chapter entitled "Energy is like other commodities" particularly compelling, especially in light of the World Economic Forum's Fourth Industrial Revolution narrative which heavily relies on the Internet of Things (IoT) for its fulfillment.  

 

Here is a quote with my bolds:

 

"Enthusiastic senders of emails and social media messages – including those using them as tools to aid protests about climate change – may believe that the internet behind their screens is saving energy in some way. However, although they travel through cyberspace rather than in planes or on trains, they stand in lineal descent from users of steam railways, ocean liners and jet aircraft as major energy users. The power demands of the internet’s nodal data centres and of the information and communications technology backbone of the modern, advanced global economy may not be obvious to users, but they are enormous."

  

This is an aspect of global climate change remediation that receives no attention from the vast majority of climate change "experts".   With Prinns' comments in mind, let's look at research into the issue of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector-related greenhouse gas emissions.  In a 2021 paper by Charlotte Freitag et al entitled "The climate impact of ICT: A review of estimates trends and regulations" we find the following:

  

"In this report, we examine the available evidence regarding ICT's current and projected climate impacts. We examine peer-reviewed studies which estimate ICT's current share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be 1.8-2.8% of global GHG emissions. Our findings indicate that published estimates all underestimate the carbon footprint of ICT, possibly by as much as 25%, by failing to account for all of ICT's supply chains and full lifecycle (i.e. emissions scopes 1, 2 and fully inclusive 3). Adjusting for truncation of supply chain pathways, we estimate that ICT's share of emissions could actually be as high as 2.1-3.9%."

  

To put this share into context, it is important to keep in mind that emissions from the civil aviation sector make up 1.9 percent of total global emissions and the much beleaguered agriculture (and fishing) sectors make up 1.7 percent of the total as shown here:

 

The authors have three reasons why ICT's emissions are likely to increase unless there is a targeted intervention:

 

1.) historically, ICT-enabled efficiency improvements have gone hand in hand with increases in energy consumption and GHG emissions both within the ICT sector and in the wider economy. While it cannot be proven that ICT efficiency gains lead to rebounds in emissions that outweigh any savings, there are so many circumstances in which reductions in inputs per unit of output lead to a net increase in inputs that this has to be a significant risk; and one that is often underappreciated.

 

2.) current studies make several important omissions surrounding the growth trends in ICT. Blockchain is generally excluded from calculations, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices are sometimes partly included but their effect on complementary growth in energy consumption by data centres and networks is not. These trends alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI) do offer opportunities for efficiency gains, but there is no evidence to suggest these create GHG savings that outweigh the additional emissions these technologies would cause.

 

3.) there is significant investment in developing and increasing uptake of Blockchain, IoT and AI. All three represent key market opportunities, provide a range of claimed public benefits and are further believed by some to enable up to 15% reductions in global emissions. While significant if achieved, this falls well short of the reductions needed to meet climate change targets. There is a risk that these technologies might also contribute to increases in emissions through stimulating increased carbon- intensive activities such as ‘Proof of Work’ algorithms and training ever more complex machine learning models.

  

Here is a graphic from the paper showing global ICT's carbon footprint in both 2015 and 2020:

 

 

Here is a graphic showing projected growth in greenhouse gas emissions from ICT between 2020 and 2040:

 

 

If the ICT sector would reduce its emissions in line with other sectors of the economy, it would have to reduce emissions by 42 percent by 2030, 72 percent by 2040 and 91 percent by 2050 as shown here:

 

 

The authors have three reasons why ICT's emissions are going to increase:

 

1.) even if there are improvements in efficiency in the ICT sector, the improvements are likely to be counterbalanced by increased growth in demand for ICT technology.  While renewable energy will help decarbonize ICT, it is not a complete solution.

 

2.) current studies of ICT's carbon footprint are omitting key sources of emissions, most particularly Blockchain and the Internet of Things.

 

3.) there is significant investment in the development and adoption of Blockchain, the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, all of which will lead to only marginal reductions in emissions from the ICT sector which will not allow the sector to meet climate change targets.

  

We also have to keep in mind that vast and growing amounts of data are being collected on all of us as the surveillance state expands its hold on society.  The storage and processing of this data, much of which is being accomplished using AI, will require increased energy usage.  This is likely to worsen over the decades, particularly once we are living in a Central Bank Digital Currency ecosystem, making it very difficult for the ICT sector to reduce its impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

  

Let's close with this thought.  Isn't it interesting that emissions from the information and technology sector receive only passing attention from the ruling class given that the sector is key to the imposition of the surveil and control agenda that they have for the peasant class?  Perhaps this is just another fine example of "do what I say, not what I do" that has become so pervasive over the past few years; they need the energy to watch and dominate us while we live in our squalid 15 minute city hovels with our small rations of energy.