"Replace 3G as quickly as possible": Mobile streaming is the most damaging to the climate

In the corona pandemic, many private individuals and companies are using digital structures. But watching series or Skype with business partners can cause very different amounts of carbon dioxide. The type of data transfer is decisive.

Whether streaming or video conferences – during the corona crisis, the amount of data on the network has increased significantly. Environment Minister Svenja Schulze from the SPD wants to make digitization environmentally friendly so that the Internet has a better climate balance. "Streaming is also climate-friendly. It doesn't have to be the new way of flying," said Schulze at a video conference. "Streaming via WLAN or broadband connection is usually much more energy-efficient than via the cellular network."

Schulze gave comparative figures: While watching an hour series over the cellular network causes 90 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the worst case, you only consume two grams in the best case in WLAN. "A very significant part of the energy consumption in video streaming arises when the data is transmitted from the cloud to the users," emphasized the minister. There are "big differences – depending on the technology with which the data is transmitted".

The findings emerge from a research project "Green Cloud Computing" commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency. The Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration and the Berlin Öko-Institut measured the environmental impact of online storage and video streaming. According to Schulze, the results are not based on assumptions, as in other studies, but for the first time on real measurements.

Binding energy performance certificate for data centers

Due to the corona pandemic, the use of cloud services in Germany increased significantly. From February to March – within a month – the amount of data increased by 30 percent, emphasized the President of the Federal Office, Dirk Messner. In March, a value of 9.16 terabits was measured at the Internet hub Frankfurt / Main – the highest data throughput per second ever recorded there. It corresponds to the simultaneous transmission of more than two million HD videos. "When expanding broadband, priority should be given to energy-efficient fiber optic networks wherever possible. The 5G infrastructure must replace the very inefficient 3G as quickly as possible," demanded the Environment Minister.

She also wants a binding energy pass to be introduced for data centers, which should provide information on energy consumption and performance. "There is an extremely wide range of energy consumption in the individual data centers," says Schulze. "Overall, the energy consumption and thus the CO2 pollution in data centers compared to other factors when using cloud services are significantly less than previously assumed."