‘Digital sobriety’ can halt tech-fuelled global warming, says report

5 March 2019

By Michael Le Page

Our tech addiction is cooking the planet. The manufacture and use of smartphones, computers and TVs will produce 4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and 8 per cent by 2025.

That is the conclusion of a report on the sustainability of the digital technology sector put together by 12 experts for a Paris-based think tank called The Shift Project, which says that energy use in this sector is increasing by 9 per cent every year.

In theory, digital technology could replace other activities that produce even more emissions. For instance, people might be using video conferencing instead of flying to meetings. But this isn’t happening, says Maxime Efoui-Hess, one of the authors of the report. Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2195771-digital-sobriety-can-halt-tech-fuelled-global-warming-says-report/#ixzz65rTiPar7

Related Posts