Column  3 min Let's talk about digital pollution!

The pollution generated by the economic sectors is widely debated both by the scientific community and by the media; yet, if there is a sector that we do not often mention or not at all when it comes to GHG emissions is the digital sector.

The COP27 conference, which is being held this year from November 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, brings together the States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as thousands of experts, journalists, and representatives of NGOs and the private sector.

The stated objective of the conference is to foster collaboration among all stakeholders to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and help ensure a just transition to a net zero economy that reduces poverty and helps ensure a sustainable future.

What are greenhouse gases (GHGs)?

GHGs can come from both natural and man-made sources. On the one hand, large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide are emitted into the air naturally by volcanoes, wildfires, and the decay of organic matter. On the other hand, since the industrial revolution, around 1750, humans have started to emit large quantities of GHGs with the rapid development of industries, transport, and agricultural activities. The atmospheric “insulating layer” becomes thicker and thicker as GHGs are emitted. This phenomenon contributes to causing more heat to get trapped near the Earth's surface and the temperature on the planet to rise. This is what we call global warming. The latter will lead to significant changes such as rising sea levels, melting glaciers, the loss of certain ecosystems, more severe periods of flooding and drought, as well as a much more versatile climate.

The main major sectors of the economy that generate GHGs in the world are, in descending order, energy consumption in the industry (24.2%), agriculture, forestry and the use of soils (18.4%), energy consumption in buildings (17.5%), transport (16.2%), direct industrial processes (5.2%) and waste (3.2%).

The pollution generated by these economic sectors is widely debated both by the scientific community and by the media; yet, if there is a sector that we do not often mention or not at all when it comes to GHG emissions is the digital sector.

Surfing the Internet, using an application, streaming a video, sending an e-mail, ordering online...All these activities which today seem completely natural to us have a huge impact on the environment in terms of pollution and energy consumption.

What is it about?

Digital pollution refers to pollution caused by new technologies. The manufacture of our digital tools, their use, as well as the operation of the Internet network generate pollutants (GHGs in particular).

The Digital includes three components: terminals (computers, smartphones, etc.), the network, and storage spaces. 85% of the digital impact would come from the manufacture of terminals, 10% from the network, and 5% from storage.

If the manufacture of terminals is also to be attributed to industrial activity globally speaking, the operation of the Internet is the source of a significant part of GHGs. For the Internet to work, there must be data centers to store all the data (which must be supplied with electricity and cooled), networks (cables, etc.), and equipment (boxes, routers, etc.). If the internet were a country, it would be the 6th biggest polluter and the 3rd largest consumer of electricity in the world with 1500 TWH per year.

 

Solutions For digital pollution?

On a personal scale, it is recommended to extend the life of your electronic devices and avoid buying everything new on the market. It is also recommended to favor Wifi over 4G, which consumes 23 times more energy, to unplug your Internet box when you are not using it, to opt for responsible storage solutions, and to optimize your emails (clean your inbox, unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters, limit attachments, etc.).

To do research on the Internet, for example, an increasing number of Internet users are using Ecosia, which is a search engine that devotes part of its profits to planting trees around the world. Others opt for data detox to optimize the security of their digital data and reduce their digital footprint.

On their side, companies are called upon to 1) improve the repairability index of devices to make them more durable; 2) produce fewer new products and not constantly encourage the purchase of the latest device released; 3) promote eco-design, i.e. take into account the probable environmental impact of a product right from the design phase. This is particularly the case of Fairphone, a Dutch electronics manufacturer that designs and produces smartphones with the objective of having a lower environmental footprint and a better social impact than is common in the sector.